Fuji no Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai
by wara ningyo
Summary: Fuji's gathering of 100 ghost tales. After an unfortunate event, Fuji obtained the sixth sense. His life started to turn upside down but with the help of someone who is close to him, Fuji managed to overcome the obstacles...or does he? Friendship, romance, pain, suspense & joy all in 1 fic with a dash of TezukaxFuji love. Mild-hot scenes inside!
1. 1st Ghost: Death of a Friend

Happy Birthday to me! Yay!

I'm going to celebrate my birthday with the first chapter of this fic ^_^ Anyway, that aside, this will be my first time writing a multi-chapter fic, so I hope everyone will get excited and anticipate in the upcoming chapters (I was very nervous about this ^^'). I have done a lot of research for this fic so hopefully I got all the information right and please, if there are any mistakes, kindly leave me a review.

**Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai** (A Gathering of 100 Ghost Tales) was a popular parlour game during the Edo period in Japan. At night, a group of people light one hundred candles and gather around them. They then take turns telling ghost stories. After each time, the person who told the story will blow one candle. When the last candle was extinguished, a ghost/spirit/supernatural entity will appear.

**Anne-chan**: Thanks for the ideas and support. I wouldn't be able to catch the escaped bunnies if it wasn't for you ^_^v

**Tina-chan**: Thanks for being my beta, this fic would be crap without you ^_^

**Readers**: Thank you very much for reading. It meant a lot.

Happy reading! ^_^v

Fate~

* * *

**First ghost: Death of a Dear Friend**

Saeki was dead. Fuji's brain was having a hard time registering that fact. Saeki, his childhood friend was gone.

* * *

"Every night, Okiku will appear near the well and count for the plates. One, two, three, four, five…" It was sundown after tennis practice. The regulars were gathering inside the clubroom. It was Fuji's turn to tell a ghost story and he was doing a good job. The story of '_Okiku and the Nine Plates_' was a common legend, but because it was Fuji who was telling the story, all the hair on the regulars' neck stood up. "…six, seven…" Fuji continued counting. His voice had a certain ring that spooked the audiences. "…eight, nine…"

"Ten."

The sudden interruption of another voice that didn't belong to any of the regulars in the room almost gave them heart attack. Fuji turned around. He was supposed to end his story and terrify the others but the person who said 'ten' had spoil his fun. Now he was in a foul mood.

"Ten laps around the courts if all of you don't leave in ten seconds," a stern voice instructed.

"Tch, it was only Tezuka." Eiji pouted when all the excitement was gone. All of the regulars except Fuji calmed down when they saw it was their buchou who showed up at the door of the clubroom, not some ghostly apparition.

"Nine, eight, seven…" Tezuka begin counting backwards. The regulars scrambled and grabbed their things before running out of the clubroom. On second thought, Tezuka was more terrifying than any other ghost.

"That was not nice Tezuka. Can't you give me a chance to scare them sometimes?" Fuji delayed his leave so that he could have a few words with the captain.

"I'm still counting, Fuji."

Fuji rolled his eyeballs and grabbed the doorknob. "I really hate you, you know," he said icily and left.

Tezuka and Fuji were currently in the middle of a strained relationship. It had been well before, at least that was what Fuji thought. There was no confession from any of them. Fuji and Tezuka were studying in Tezuka's room one day and they had been sitting next to each other. Tired, the brunette leaned closer to the person beside him and laid his head on top of his shoulder. There was no objection from Tezuka and moments later, their hands touched. Fuji playfully ran his fingers on Tezuka's arms then shortly after, they were holding hands. A pair of lips descended on top of the smaller boy's head, pressing lightly on his soft sand-colored hair. He looked up at the other with a smile and returned the favor on the boy's right cheek. It was vague how Tezuka's lips caught his soon after and the buchou was pinning him down on the floor. Fuji could think of nothing but Tezuka's tongue invading his mouth. The other boy's weight pressed his body down and a nimble hand crawled on his stomach. What seemed to be longer than a while ended much to Fuji's dismay. They were both out of breath, Fuji's lips were red and swollen and his white school shirt was disheveled.

The two of them had been seeing each other during their private times since then. Fuji thought they shared a mutual feeling, so he bothered not to confess because it was unnecessary. It's only been five weeks; Fuji was in cloud nine until Tezuka called him for a private chat after tennis practice one day. It was '_A mistake'_, as Tezuka put it. It was something that he would undo if given the chance. Fuji was biting his lips all the while listening to those cruel words. The light from his eyes disappeared and he was heartbroken ever since.

Fuji got on the bus. He paid for the ticket and took a seat by the window. It's been hard having his heart torn apart like that. Deep inside, he still loved Tezuka. He loved him so much that he couldn't help but hate him for ending their relationship like that. He got down from the bus, entered the train station and headed somewhere else. Fuji wondered whether he realized where he was heading.

It was dark, the sky was black. There was only the shade of the full moon that peeked over the night clouds. Fuji glanced at his wristwatch. It was already passed midnight. He reached his hand into his back pocket and pulled out his mobile phone. There were missed calls from his family. They must have been worried that he didn't return home after tennis practice. Fuji sent them a text message instead of calling to inform his family that he's staying out for the night. His family knew he could take care of himself, so it was not such a big deal. It was Friday night after all. He had Saturday off.

"Now, where am I going again?" he asked himself. He looked around and knew that he was already halfway to his destination. There was nobody in sight. Fuji was all alone. He walked further into the darkness and soon was greeted by hundreds of gravestones.

His footsteps ended and he turned facing his left side. "_Hisashiburi_." The brunette smiled and took out a bottle of water. "If I knew I was heading here I would've got you some flowers." He said before pouring water onto a small pot of cactus. "Thanks for taking care of my favorite cactus. It looks well."

Engraved on the big gravestone was Saeki Kojirou's name, the fuku-buchou of the Rokkaku tennis club. He was also Fuji's childhood friend back when they were growing up in Chiba.

About a month ago Saeki was on his way to visit Fuji in Tokyo after learning that his long time buddy was going out with Tezuka. He was suddenly pulled into an alley by a street gang and after being forcibly mugged, he was stabbed multiple times. He lost a lot of blood. Saeki died a slow and painful death. Fuji blamed himself for it. Despite how he looked and acted like his normal self, deep inside he was in agony. Fuji had nightmares every night because he couldn't get rid of his guilt and Tezuka breaking their relationship had made it worse.

Fuji sat down by the Saeki family grave and stared at the big monument. He never expected to see any of his friends' names to appear on a gravestone this soon. It seemed like it was yesterday that he met Saeki with his friends and now he will never have the chance to see him again. "_Gomenasai_, Saeki." The apology came out very slow, as if it was choked in Fuji's throat. "If it weren't for me, you'd still be alive." A single tear dropped onto the stone's surface. Fuji buried his face in his hands. No matter how hard he tried to stop crying, the tears kept on flowing incessantly.

"_Crying doesn't suit you, Fuji._"

Fuji's shoulders tensed. Who could have said that at a time like this, in a graveyard where Fuji was alone? Fuji felt the hair on his back rise and it suddenly felt cold. He tried to calm himself by thinking that he was just hearing things. It made sense, since he was emotionally unstable at the moment.

"_Did you miss me so much that you couldn't wait until morning to come and see me?"_ The voice asked again. Fuji immediately looked in front of him, where the voice came from.

"Saeki?"

* * *

_**End of First ghost**_

**A/N**:The story of _'Okiku and the Nine Plates' (_Bancho Sarayashiki)is a famous Japanese folktale about a beautiful maid who was accused by her master that she lost one of the ten precious delft plates because she rejected his amorous advances. After she counted and re-counted, she couldn't find the tenth plate. Her master agreed to forgive her if she became his lover but again, Okiku rejected him. As a result, he threw her down a well where she drowned to her death. Every night, her ghost appeared near the well and after she counted nine, she let out a terrible shriek. It was said that if a person said 'ten' after she finished counted the ninth plate, Okiku will rest in peace because she felt relieved that somebody had found the missing plate.

**So, what do you think? Interesting? Boring? Crappy? Weird? Leave a review.  
**


	2. 2nd Ghost: The Spirit that won't Leave

**Tina-chan**: Thanks for putting up with me even though you're very busy. You're the best beta ever! (not that I have any other ^^')

**Anne-chan**: Maybe you should get some tissues or a handkerchief ready before reading this one ^^'

**Nowlive**: Hope you're looking forward to reading this chapter ^^

**No.13**: I hope your curiosity will be satisfied after this :D

**Disclaimer**: I can't believe I forgot to write a disclaimer in the first chapter. Konomi-sensei, please don't sue me! Let me get this straight; I'm only using PoT as the background of my fics, without them, I'm nothing and no one would read any story that I write. I owned and gained nothing of it except for the wonderful reviews ^_^v.

Happy reading! ^_^v

Fate~

* * *

**Second ghost: The Spirit that won't Leave  
**

"How are you feeling?" asked a voice when Fuji opened his eyes. His head felt heavy and he felt cold as if his bones were made of ice.

"Neesan…" he saw his older sister's face. He tilted his head to the side and recognized his own room. He remembered about telling Tezuka how he hated him, about getting on the bus and the train to Chiba and about walking into the graveyard and visiting Saeki's grave. "Was that a dream?" he mumbled to himself.

Yumiko sighed. She was very worried about her brother. "Syusuke, I know that you're feeling guilty about Saeki's death but doing irrational things won't bring him back." She lectured him a little.

"What are you talking about, neesan?"

"I'm talking about you going to Chiba alone in the middle of the night and visiting a graveyard. What were you thinking?"

Fuji sat up on his bed. He was silent. So it was true. He did go to Saeki's grave. "I..."

"It's a good thing that Saeki's parents went there in the morning. The night air was chilly and you could've got pneumonia." Yumiko continued while Fuji was still thinking about what he was going to say.

Fuji was lost. All his sister's words didn't make sense to him. "What happened, neesan? I'm not so sure about it myself."

Yumiko took a seat beside her brother on the bed. She knew that Fuji had been through a lot lately. "You didn't come home Friday night. You texted me saying that you were staying out. Yesterday morning we got a call from Saeki's parents saying they found you unconscious in front of their family grave. You had a fever and slept until just now." Yumiko explained meticulously. "So, are you going to tell me what were you doing there?" she asked her blue-eyed brother.

"I was just paying him a visit."

"At midnight?"

"It was still early when I got on the train. I guess it took a little longer than I thought to travel from Tokyo to Chiba."

"Why were you unconscious?

"Tired, maybe."

"Are you okay now?"

"Yes. I'm sorry for making you worry."

Yumiko got up and walked to the door. "I made you some food. You haven't eaten since yesterday."

"_Arigatou_, neesan."

Yumiko left the room. Fuji lied back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He lied about being tired and passing out. He couldn't just tell his sister that he saw Saeki sitting on his grave when all that was left of that guy were his ashes.

"_I didn't know your sister was strict_." said a familiar voice. "_Hisashiburi da ne_!"

Fuji's eyes were wide open. There _he_ was, sitting at the end of Fuji's bed, smiling so casually and dressed in his brick-red jersey. The brunette moved backwards instinctively. It was just impossible that his deceased friend could be sitting in front of him. Saeki was dead; Fuji was sure of that. He saw Saeki's lifeless body lying in the coffin at his funeral. He was so pale that even the fair-skinned Fuji seemed to have more color to his face.

"_Fuji, you're_ _not crazy_. _I __**am**__ dead_." Saeki admitted, confusing Fuji more.

"Then how…?"

"_Since my body had been burned to ashes now, I'm just a spirit_."

"Spirit as in a ghost?"

"_More or less_." Saeki accepted the idea Fuji had about what he was.

"But I can see you. Does that mean I am dead too?"

Saeki chuckled. Somehow Fuji sounded funny to him. "_No, the reason why you can see me is because I'm haunting you_."

His friend's statement didn't surprise him. "Oh." He managed to utter a word, unaware that Saeki was not serious. To Fuji, Saeki's death was his fault because his friend was mugged and killed on the way to meet him. Fuji believed that he deserved to be haunted.

Saeki sighed looking at how his friend was behaving. He was not the same Fuji he used to know. The usual Fuji would come up with something like '_you are the one who was haunted by me, that's why you are unable to rest in peace_' or something between the lines. The Fuji in front of him right now had lost his sadistic remarks.

"What do you want me to do so that you can move on?" Fuji immediately asked. He read somewhere before that dead people turned into ghosts because they have unfinished business. "Unless you want to haunt me until the day I die," he added.

"_I came back because of you_." It was Saeki's turn to become serious. "_I can't move on until you free yourself from your guilt. It's not your fault that I died; it was those guys who mugged me_."

"But I was the one who called you here," the brunette protested. How could he not blame himself when he was the reason why Saeki got pulled into the alley by those thugs in the first place? "I should have gone to your place instead," he said regretfully.

An annoyed sigh escaped Saeki's mouth. "_This is why I can't rest in peace_." He sulked. "_You know what, I won't leave you until you get rid of that guilt_," he stated firmly.

"Saeki…"

"_I won't leave. Even if you call an exorcist, I won't go away until I'm done with you_."

"Aniki." There were a few knocks on the door and Yuuta entered the room. "Neesan said that you're awake. I'm just checking how you're doing." The youngest child of the Fuji family avoided any eye contact with his brother. It was still awkward for him to show his brother that he cared about him.

"I'm fine, Yuuta. It's so nice of you to come home because of me," Fuji teased a little, letting Yuuta know that he was alright.

"It's not like that!" Yuuta blushed slightly from the truth in Fuji's words. "It's the weekend, that's why I came home." He made up an excuse.

Saeki laughed at the brothers. Fuji realized something and looked at his younger sibling. "Yuuta, can't you see him?"

"See who?"

"_Him_." He spared a glance to the space beside him on the bed. Seeing Yuuta frowned and at lost of for words, Fuji let the thought pass. "Nothing, I was just kidding." He smiled.

"I guess you really are alright, aniki." The younger Fuji confirmed and left the room.

Fuji stared at Saeki in silence for a long time. Saeki just smiled. He could guess what Fuji had in mind; it definitely was about the fact that he could see him and Yuuta couldn't.

Now that he looked at his friend carefully, Saeki was translucent. Fuji reached his hand and touched the white haired boy's face. His hand went though and a sudden chill ran through his body. A gush of tears flowed down his cheeks.

"_I'm staying, until you cry no more_."

* * *

_**End of Second ghost**_

**A/N**: I was a little down by the fact that I couldn't include any ghost info in this chapter (this is a very short chappie anyway). I'm so sorry if anyone was frustrated .. Another thing which is **very important**, in previous and present chapters I italicized the Japanese words/phrases and also Saeki's speech which resulted in a little confusion. So in the upcoming chapters, I won't italicize the Japanese words anymore. I hope things wont get sloppy later ^^'.

**There you go. Second chapter. How was it? Better? Messy? Confusing? Leave a review. Please ^_^.**


	3. 3rd Ghost: Breaking a Broken Heart

Phew! I managed to finish up chapter 3, hooray! It took me a while, time and inspiration were just not on my side this time. Anyway, thanks for those who waited. I hope you guys will like it ^__^

**Anne-chan**: Well, Saeki played a big part in this, but you know I'm a big fan of TezukaFuji right? So there's a bit of spoiler for you there. BTW, about the exorcist thing, I don't mind at all. I only mention it, I didn't have a plan to use it for now. I can't wait to see your reaction on this chapter ^__^

**Tina-chan**: Thanks for putting up with me. Let's work hard for chapter 4! ^.^v

**Yoshikochan**: Wow, we have Fuji's mother in the house! LOL, thanks for your review last time. I hope you'll be entertained with this chappie ^^

**Animelovermitsuki**: Thanks for your review. Yes, Fuji is haunted, and getting more haunted by the day XD

**Vhii1217**: Thanks for the review. The reader's wish is my command ^_^

**FrenzForever**: Thanks for your very informative review. I'm very well aware that there are many versions of Bancho Sarayashiki, but if I were to explain all the versions that I know of this story wouldn't be Fuji no Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai instead it would be Okiku no Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai XD Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this chapter (^_^) Isshouni ganbarimashou nee!

**No.13**: Thanks for reviewing again. I never intended to kill Saeki (he's such a nice guy ^^) but to avoid from using an oc, I had to kill him ." I couldn't say how the ghosts reactions toward Fuji will be since this is just the third chapter. Soon, you'll be the judge.

**BleuFleur**: First of all, thanks for the review. I think you're pretty much on the right track. I can't comment much on what you mentioned because I might give away too many spoilers ^^' Anyway, this is just the beginning, things might get more intense in the future. I hope you'll look forward to it.

For those who read but didn't leave me a review, thanks anyway. You guys are always welcome to read ^__^

Disclaimer: PoT = not mine.

Happy reading! ^_^v

Fate~

* * *

**Third ghost: Breaking a Broken Heart**

Tennis practice in Seigaku was always tough, especially on Mondays. Tezuka assigned the club members to insane number of laps and other physical trainings because he thought the weekend off days slowed down their stamina. "First and second years, put away all the balls and nets, and then clean the courts. Regulars gather up!" Tezuka instructed once tennis practice was over. All the tennis club members sighed in relieve. They thought the day would never come to an end in Tezuka's presence. The regulars gathered up in front of Tezuka and listened to what he had to say. He told them to have a good rest and drink a lot of water, something they used to hear all the time. "Yudan sezu ni ikou." He ended the short meeting.

"Fujiko!" The brunette turned around and saw his cheerful friend, Kikumaru Eiji. He had a smile upon his face and Fuji knew that he must need something from him. "Ano nee, Fuji. I borrowed a book from the library and it's a little bit overdue. Can you return it for me?" Eiji used his cute charms to get a favor from the tensai. Fuji nodded and took the book from Eiji. His redheaded friend was glad he could get away from having to pay the overdue charges.

"_Are you going to pay the overdue charges for him?_" Saeki, who had been with Fuji since the last twenty-four hours, asked. The brunette was getting used to having Saeki's spirit following him now. Ever since the day before, his dead friend had insisted that he would go wherever Fuji would.

"He asked me to return it for him because he knew I won't be charged," he answered, but he had been very conscious of his surrounding to avoid people from thinking that he was talking to himself.

Fuji was a regular at the library, thanks to Tezuka. Most of their study sessions were held there since (a) the library is indeed a place for people to study or do their revision, (b) there were no more than ten people in the library at a time, (c) Tezuka hates the crowd, and (d) other than a secluded place, the library is the best spot for some 'private' sessions. Fuji recalled pulling Tezuka toward the last row of the bookshelves and tried his hardest to fight the urge from tearing the captain's shirt while they were having a passionate lip lock.

Fuji stopped in front of the library and banged his head on the door.

"_Fuji, you ok_?" the apparition beside him asked, his eyes were as round as the moon.

"I'm fine. I just remembered something I should be forgetting." He shook off the thought from his head. Damn. He regretted pulling Tezuka to every nook and cranny of the school to be pinned against the wall and have his mouth ravished by him. Now, whenever he passed by each place, he would only be reminded of those times.

With a sigh, Fuji entered the library and approached the counter, where the librarian was standing. He greeted with a lovely smile and handed the book that Eiji had asked to return. The librarian took the book from Fuji as expected and Eiji got off the hook from paying any overdue charges.

Fuji looked around. There was no one in the library. The school hours had long ended. Unlike other clubs in Seigaku, only the tennis club practice dragged until the evening. The library would soon stop operating for the day too. "I'm going to look for some reading material. I won't take long." Fuji told the librarian and as the other student nodded, Fuji disappeared among the bookshelves.

Fuji made his way to the far end of the library, where the last row of the bookshelves was. He knew he shouldn't go near that place; it would only bring him pain. The blue eyed boy took a deep breath and advanced further. He had to get over it.

For the first time, Fuji noticed what kind of books were actually on the bookshelf. "Paranormal Studies…" he read. "Modern Haunting, Japanese Gods and Deities, Japanese Classical Horror…" he mumbled a few more of the book titles. His finger followed the backbone of each books as he read them. "The Collection of Japanese Supernatural Occurrences." His index finger finally stopped at the backbone of a tome in a hardcover.

"_What have you got there_?" Saeki who hadn't paid attention to him peeked over the shorter boy's shoulder.

Fuji didn't answer. He secured his fingers around the book and pulled it out of the shelf. The sudden force made the adjacent books fly towards Fuji, then ended on the floor. Saeki rolled his eyes. This is part of the reason why he never messes with Fuji. Inside that petite body, only god knows how strong he was.

"A little help here, please?" Fuji eyed the dearly departed fuku-buchou with unintended annoyance. Saeki crouched down and touched the surface of one of the books. The fact that he no longer has a solid body means he could no longer touch solid things. It was upsetting that he was unable to do that and Fuji's irritation was discouraging.

Fuji stood up to retrieve the last book that had landed far from the rest. He reminded himself to inform the librarian about how the books were arranged. If this was to happen to Tezuka, he would surely bring this matter to the student council and the school librarians would have to work extra hours to keep all the books organized just the way he wanted them to be.

Damn. Tezuka again. And the fact that the actual being was right in front of Fuji after picking up the last book didn't make things any better. He could remember all of their encounters in the library but he had forgotten one important detail – the fact that the adjacent bookshelf held quite a number of books on the origins of theorem Pythagoras, complex calculus and advanced physics – which nobody in Seigaku (even the teachers) except for Tezuka would even spare a glance.

Fuji turned facing the bookshelf of the paranormal studies' section. He was not interested in that particular book or the person who was holding it at the moment. Tezuka returned the book to the shelf while Fuji selected a few more books which caught his attention, such as those entitled Modern Haunting, Paranormal Studies and Japanese Classical Horror to be exact.

Saeki found it weird that Tezuka and Fuji were cold to each other. "_Are you having a fight with your boyfriend_?" Right, Fuji just remembered that Saeki was already a pile of ashes in a pot when Tezuka broke them off.

Fuji ignored the question. There was no way he would answer that in Tezuka's presence. That would only give Tezuka a stronger reason for dumping him; the bespectacled boy would assume he was hallucinating and hearing things with the way he communicated with Saeki.

Carrying the weight of the thick books, Fuji walked past the taller teen toward the dim lit corner where he was used to being pushed into as his lips were assaulted. He could feel a pair of sharp eyes piercing through his back and immediately his knees grew weak. In a matter of seconds, Fuji found himself using the bookshelf as a support to stop from being another object that ended up on the floor.

"_Fuji_!"

"Fuji!"

He felt a cold touch on one side of his shoulder and enveloping warmth on the other. He had been longing for that warmth even in his dreams but given the circumstances, he didn't really appreciate it at the moment.

"I'm fine.' He said in a firm voice. Tezuka took his hands off of Fuji and let the boy pick up the books on his own. The word '_**yurei'**_ was the last thing Fuji remembered before he succumbed to unconsciousness.

* * *

"Twice in less than a week, are you sure he's alright?"

"It was only fatigue. He will be fine after some rest."

"Are you sure there is nothing wrong with him?"

"_Other than the fact that he's emotionally unstable, seeing his dead friend and not speaking to his boyfriend, I'd say Fuji is doing quite well'_."

"He's a healthy young boy. There's nothing to worry." The doctor assured Fuji's worried mother and sister.

Saeki slapped his own forehead. Maybe he should go visible so they can hear and see him like Fuji did. But there was no need for drastic measures now, thought Saeki. Well, at least as long as Fuji didn't get hurt.

No, not physically.

Despite being unconscious when Tezuka carried him on his back from school, Fuji clung on the bespectacled boy tightly as if the teen was his last lifeline. Saeki was restless (which was quite fitting because he was already a restless spirit) waiting for his childhood friend to wake up and tell him what exactly he missed out on the relationship between the tensai and the buchou.

When Fuji finally regained his consciousness, it was already the dawn of a new day. His sparkly blue eyes fluttered open as the morning glow entered his room through the slightly parted curtains.

"_It's about time you woke up_!" Saeki's face was just inches away from Fuji's. The former jumped at the sudden greeting. It surprised the white haired boy as much when his childhood friend suddenly let out a girlish squeal. "_Fuji, that was very out of character_."

"Sorry, I'm still not used to having a ghost in my face when I open my eyes in the morning."

"_Well, get used to it ASAP. I don't want you to pass out on every little surprising thing_."

Fuji didn't take note of Saeki's latest remark and made his bed. He grabbed his towel and turned the doorknob.

"_Hey, I'm not quite finished with you_!" Saeki groused as Fuji slammed the door in his face. One good thing about being a ghost was that doors and walls were no longer in his way. Saeki simply walked through the door and tailed Fuji who was already in the bathroom. "Fuji_, I didn't die for fun just to find out you're not talking to your boyf_-" A shampoo bottle came flying towards his direction.

"Get out!"

"_What the_-?" Saeki frowned. Did Fuji just throw a shampoo bottle at him (knowing that it would only go through Saeki's ghostly form)? And what was Fuji thinking, covering his topless body with his pajama top pressed to his chest? That aside, why was he screaming 'get out' to Saeki? "_What has gotten into you, Fuji_?!" The boy's gray eyes widened when another bottle, no, a tube of toothpaste went through his head.

"Hentai otoko, get out!"

"_What's the big deal?! It's not like I've never seen you topless before and if it would make you feel better, I don't swing the way you and Tezuka do_!" Quickly, Saeki put his thoughts into words.

Fuji puffed his cheeks and threw the next closest thing to him. Saeki gave up and went out of the bathroom. The stuff Fuji aimed at his body hurt him not, but he didn't think they would be able to establish any conversation with Fuji using him as a practice target.

In the end, by the time he walked Fuji to school (though in reality, he was going to school and anywhere else Fuji went) Saeki didn't get the answer he wanted from Fuji, about what happened between him and Tezuka. The fact that they were heading for the tennis courts for morning practice cheered Saeki a little.

"Minna, ohayou gozaimasu." Fuji easily attracted all the first and second years' attention as if a spotlight shone over his head.

"Ohayou, Fujiko!" The redhead snaked his arms around Fuji's shoulder and greeted his friend.

Fuji turned to face the acrobat. A beautiful smile spread across his porcelain face. "Good morning, Eiji." He uttered his classmate and best friend's name with elegance.

Given his almost perfect visions, Eiji couldn't miss the difference on the tensai's expression. His cheeks turned red and his lips moved to say something but no words came out. Kikumaru Eiji was totally enchanted. BY FUJI.

"Eiji, what's wrong?" The brunette placed a palm on Eiji's burning cheek. The redhead stuttered and collapsed. If Oishi was nowhere near, Eiji would have landed on the hard ground.

Kawamura approached Fuji. He wondered what the tennis prodigy had done to make their teammate become like that. "Fuji?" called the future sushi chef.

"Yes, Taka-san?"

The graceful turn of the head made Kawamura's heart skip a beat. Why was he seeing Sakura petals dancing around Fuji when it was already summer time? Not to mention that he just saw an illusion of Fuji with long hair and a dress (which no doubt would look good on him), but why? Kawamura wondered whether he should consider going to the optometrist or maybe he should go straight to the psychiatrist in case he was out of his mind.

Kawamura was not the last victim of Fuji's unusual pheromones. Ninety-nine percent of the tennis club members encountered some sort of inability to respond to any of Tezuka's instruction or focus on the club's tennis routine. Getting rid of Fuji would only bring up unnecessary issues, so Tezuka decided if every one were too dazed to even pick up a racket, he might as well give them a day off. As a result, morning practice ended early and afternoon practice was canceled.

Tezuka waited until the clubroom was empty before he confronted Fuji, something he had been avoiding for a while. "Fuji, we have to talk." Tezuka's voice was strict.

"Sure. But I've got to hurry right now. Let's meet at the library after school." The brunette inched closer to the buchou. "I'll be waiting." Fuji practically ran his finger on Tezuka's chest before walking through the door leaving the stoic teen behind.

* * *

"_One_ _minute you're not talking to him and now you are flirting with him_?" An annoyed ghost nagged at Fuji as he made his way toward his secret spot in the library. Fuji's unusual behavior irritated him even more. He was aware that this friend he knew since his childhood days had a tendency to be a complete sadist, but making the whole school suffer in less than a day was not his trend.

"What's wrong with my flirting with my boyfriend?"

"_Did you hit your head yesterday_?"

Fuji was about to give a reply when he heard Tezuka's indifferent voice. He smiled looking at the taller teen approaching him.

"You came."

"To talk about an important matter," Tezuka cleared immediately.

"What makes you think I'm here to fool around?" Boldly, the boy wrapped his arms around the other's shoulder.

Tezuka closed his eyes. Fuji was really testing his patience. Tezuka chose to remain static instead of pulling or pushing the slender boy in front of him. "Fuji, I thought I have made it clear about our relationship."

Fuji faked a pout. "I know, but you weren't serious right? I know you still want me." The smaller boy closed the distance between their bodies. They could feel the warmth of each other.

"Fuji."

"You wanted to touch me. Admit it, right now you can only think about pushing me into that corner and kiss me."

"Fuji!"

"Nee, kiss me. Please?"

Saeki rolled his eyes. The show was too much for him. Not only was his friend in a relationship with a guy, but now Fuji acted way too girly. It was more than what he could handle.

"_Saeki_!"

Saeki flinched.

"_Saeki_! _It's me, Fuji! The real Fuji_!"

"_What the hell_! _Where are you_?"

"_I'm inside my own body. When I collapsed yesterday, a spirit took over_!"

"_No wonder you were so strange_. _Why didn't you tell me earlier_?!"

"_Save the questions for later. Right now I need you to possess Tezuka_."

"_Why the heck should I possess your boyfriend_?!" Saeki was reluctant.

"_Hurry, possess him now and remember what I will tell you_." Fuji instructed and told the dearly departed what he should say once he possess Tezuka.

"_Wait, how the hell am I supposed to possess him_?"

"_I don't know, you're the ghost not me_! _Saeki please, I will hate myself if I ended up kissing Tezuka_."

The white haired boy grunted and stood behind Tezuka. "_How should I do this_?" He sulked. Saeki closed his eyes and focused. "_Possess…possess_…" He chanted and when he opened his eyes, Fuji's face was just millimeters away from his, or to be exact, Tezuka's face. Saeki snapped out of his own confusion and tried to remember what Fuji had asked him to say.

"Fuji." He began. He felt weird when he heard Tezuka's voice in his head. The Fuji in front of him blinked when Tezuka's hands pushed at his shoulder. "We are a mistake." Saeki who was possessing Tezuka recalled the words. "I have let my guards down and if I could turn back time, I would never repeat the same mistake."

A tear flowed down Fuji's left cheek. Saeki's eyes (within Tezuka) went wide and he was confused whether he was saying the right words.

"_Don't stop, Saeki_!" Fuji's inner voice instructed him.

"We worked best as team mates, and I prefer to keep us that way. Forgive me, but I can never love you Fuji."

Hearing the final sentence, Fuji distanced himself and faced his back to Tezuka. Obviously he was trying to wipe away the escaping tears from being seen.

"Fuji?"

"You can un-possess Tezuka now. The spirit has left."

Focusing on leaving Tezuka's body, Saeki slowly emerged and joined his friend's side. The same moment the spirit left Tezuka, he staggered a little before shaking his head off the dizziness. He didn't remember a thing when Saeki was inside his body. His brows creased as his eyes caught the sight of Fuji's back.

"Fuji-"

"Tezuka," Fuji cut off when he heard his name was called for so many times already. "It won't happen again. Ever. I promise you. I'm not myself lately and I know that's not an excuse but, I'm truly sorry for the trouble I caused." He drew a deep breath and calmed himself before he finally summed the courage to look Tezuka in his eyes. "You can punish me during morning practice tomorrow." Fuji forced a smile.

"Ah," The buchou agreed. "And next time-"

"Yudan sezu ni ikou, right?" Fuji guessed it correctly. Anyone would have seen that coming from Tezuka.

Tezuka's expression remained unchanged. He placed a friendly pat on Fuji's shoulder before he walked past him and disappear behind the shelves. Fuji didn't move until the joints in his knees went limp and he sprawled on the floor.

"_Not again_!" Saeki was getting tired of Fuji's sudden paralysis. However there were a few things that bothered him; why would the spirit that possessed Fuji give up on him after 'Tezuka' said those words and what actually happened between the two of them. But the thing that got him really worried was the tears shed by the small boy. "_Fuji, what was that all about_?" Saeki had had enough of Fuji procrastinating.

A loud sigh came out from Fuji's mouth. He was leaning to the bookshelf and had his face buried to his knees. "The spirit that possessed me, she had been watching me and Tezuka when we used to spend time here," began Fuji. "She thought that if she possesses me she could use my body to be with Tezuka, but she didn't know we've broke up."

"_Wait, you two broke up_?!"

"Two weeks after your funeral."

"_WHAT_?! _Why_?"

"Isn't it obvious? The things I asked you to say to me just now were the exact same lines Tezuka had said to me when he broke us up."

"_Fuji_…" Saeki's voice was full with sympathy.

"The spirit that possessed me was sharing my emotions, so when she heard what Tezuka- _you _said, she gave up and left."

"_Fuji, I'm sorry_." Saeki leaned closer to his friend. Somehow he felt like Tezuka's accomplice for breaking Fuji's heart.

And for the first time since he became a ghost, Saeki managed to wrap his arms around the heartbroken boy without going through him.

* * *

_**End of Third ghost**_

**A/N**: (1) I'll restate this again; this is a TezukaFuji fic regardless of how it looked like.

(2) A '**_yurei_**' is a spirit of a person who dies in a sudden/violent manner such as murder, suicide etc and was not given a proper burial or was consumed by powerful emotions such as revenge, love, sorrow, hatred etc. Saeki can be considered as a yurei, since he was unable to move on until Fuji stop feeling guilty of his death. The spirit that possessed Fuji was also a yurei since she was jealous of Tezuka and Fuji's relationship. I didn't explain about her character much but there's a possibility that she will appear again in later chapters. Anyway, this is the only ghost that appeared this time ^_^"

From now on, I'm going to make a ghost count.

(in order of appearance)

Chapter 1 : Okiku, Saeki

Chapter 2 : none

Chapter 3 : yurei

total = 3

**So what do you think of the third chapter? Nice? Too long? Too short? Nonsensical? Leave a review. Pretty please.**


	4. 4th Ghost: Distant Star

Mina-san! Hisashiburi!

First of all, I would like to apologize for taking a very long time to come up with a new chapter. I felt so guilty, I do (so much that I cant sleep at night .) Anyway, I hope this chapter could make up for all the waiting ^_^

Second of all, I'm going to **dedicate this chapter** to my dearest friend/beta **ZukaFujiZone** because it's her birthday! happy birthday and I hope this chapter is to your liking. Love ya so much!

Another credit is for my friend Bluewings Lagoon (who doesn't have an ffnet account) for beta-ing this chapter on a very short notice (since it's ZFZ'z birthday, I can't make her beta this chappie, can I XD) Thanks so much! I owe you!

Tacuma for being such a good support. Lav ya lots too ^_^

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Now, I would like to give my thanks to all that reviewed the previous chapters;

**Animelovermitsuki **I hope this chapter wont let you down too much . My muse left me, so I hope I can make it up to you in the next chapter.

**Yoshikochan** I totally fangirled when possessed!Fuji tried to make Tezuka kiss him in the prev chappie. I hope you will find more fangirl moments in the next chapter ^_^v

**Vegibee** Please dont ever kill yourself over a guy! And for the love of all the spirits, Plz continue being a support to Fuji! He will need your fangirl love! And what you hope in the future for this fic MIGHT come true =)

**BleuFleur** Usually boys that age are a bit clueless, aren't they? That's how I tried to portray them anyway. And yes, it is bad for his health. I'm sorry for making him look weak, but who knows he might be stronger in later chapters!

**Freiya The Winter Fay** My biggest worry was when i wrote 'character death' in the synopsis, nobody would read it. But thanks for taking time to read, review and like it. I will try to be more productive in writing the next chapters.

**Angel123death** Thank you for your suggestion/request. Sad to say that I already thought of the ending, but I might consider adding some elements that might fit your suggestion. That's all I can say for now. Plz continue reading in the future ^^

**Yukirimi** Sorry I made you wait, plz enjoy the next chapter :)

**LostinMind93** The story might be more angsty in the future, but you can have your hopes for better end. Hope you will find a friend like Saeki in this fic!

I hope I replied everyone's reviews ^^"

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**Title**: Distant Star (fourth ghost)

**Author**: Wara Ningyo

**Rating**: T

**Important Facts**: This chapter revolves around the **Tanabata Matsuri**. Tanabata is a festival celebrated on July 7 in Japan where people write wishes on tanzaku (colored paper around the size of a bookmark) and hang them on bamboo trees. People of all ages celebrate this festival but it is more common around kids. It's similar to the Chinese Qixi festival.

**The legend of Orihime and Hikoboshi**: Orihime (weaving princess - Vega) is the daughter of Tentei (the king of the sky/universe). She is hardwoking and wove beautiful clothes for her father which gave her no time to find a guy and fall in love. Her father who was concerned arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi (cow herder star - Altair) who work on the other side of Amanogawa (heavenly river - milky way) and they fell in love. After they were married, both of them became lazy and Tentei was mad. They separated the two of them; both on each sides of Amanogawa. Orihime pleaded to her father to let her see her husband and Tentei, moved by his daughter let her see him once a year on the 7th day of the 7th month. But because of the river, they can only see each other from afar. Orihime was so sad, then came the magpies forming a bridge for them to cross over and meet. It was said that if it rains on Tanabata, the magpies cannot come thus Orihime and Hikoboshi have to wait for another year before they can see each other again.

Thanks for paying attention to the facts! HAPPY READING!

Fate~

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**Fourth ghost: Distant Star  
**

"_What are you doing here_?"

Fuji was surprised to see Tezuka in his room. The bespectacled teen just sat on the chair facing the bed, not saying anything. Fuji looked at the person lying on bed, covered with a thick blanket, breathing heavily, hair damped from sweat. Fuji knew it was him, with the red face and body that had succumbed to the high fever which gave him the out-of-body experience.

"_It's just a fever. Go home. I'll be fine. Save your pity_."

Tezuka didn't move an inch. Fuji's words couldn't affect him. He couldn't hear him anyway. He sat there, watching his ex-boyfriend toss about restlessly in his sleep, trying to fight the fever that had taken over his body for the past two days. To say that he was the one to be blame was not far from the truth. It was the peak of the rainy season. In spite of that, he had made all the regulars trained in the rain. While the regulars rarely fell sick even when subjected to harsh training and weather conditions, this time it had taken its toll on the tennis prodigy.

"_It won't make me any better if you keep staring. You're just making me feel worse with that indifferent look of yours_."

Pushing his spectacles up so that it rested perfectly on the bridge of his nose, Tezuka got up and set the chair aside before walking towards the side of Fuji's bed. The damp cloth on the other's forehead was now hot and dry. Tezuka gently removed the cloth and proceeded to soak it in the small basin of water placed on the side table. He drained the excess water from the cloth and softly pushed Fuji's tresses that covered his forehead to the back.

Fuji's spirit was watching Tezuka's every movement. He leaned back against the wall, his legs and arms crossed. He wondered why his mother had let this person in. On the other hand, she didn't have the any reason not to either. She didn't know about Fuji's affair with the tennis captain or about their breakup. Fuji sighed. There is no reason for him to be so uptight. It's not like Tezuka was there to take advantage of him while he was unconscious. Tezuka had made it clear that he hated him.

Soft lips descended on top of Fuji's forehead and he heard the other boy whisper, "I'm sorry." In that instant, Fuji found himself back in his own body and he jerked upright. He summoned up the little bit of energy left inside his body to sit up on his bed. Fuji scanned his room, desperately searching for Tezuka but the buchou wasn't there, not even the smell of his cologne could be detected. The sick brunette fell back on his back as disappointment enveloped him. He thought the visit was real. He hoped it was.

"Stupid dream," the tensai mumbled.

"_You're awake_," Saeki appeared out of thin air.

"I'm going back to sleep," Fuji struggled to speak. His fever didn't look like it was going to subside. Fuji picked the damp cloth that had fallen when he sat up abruptly and placed it back on his forehead. It took but a moment after he shut his eyes and the boy was fast asleep.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The next day, Fuji was determined to go to school even though he had not yet recovered from his fever. His mother had told him not to go. She was worried that Fuji might collapse again like he did so many times recently. Saeki asked him to stay home as well but Fuji wouldn't listen to any of them. He said he was only going to school and promised he would sit out from tennis practice. He didn't want to stay at home on Tanabata Day. It might be a festival more suited for children but Fuji understood the significance of the celebration. Besides, he has a wish to make. A wish that he really hope will come true.

"_I_ _don't remember you being so stubborn when we were young kids_," Saeki continued sulking when Fuji ignored his advice. He was worried that Fuji's fever might become worse. The skies were cloudy. It might rain again in the afternoon.

"If you remembered that, you should also remember that I never miss Tanabata even once," Fuji rebutted.

Despite the fact that ghosts didn't have any breath to talk about, Saeki managed to heave a sigh. No one could make Fuji do something he didn't want to. Sometimes he felt like he was babysitting Fuji but had failed in a way. In the few months that Saeki had been haunting his childhood friend, he learned how Fuji has changed so much ever since his death. He wondered if it was really because of Fuji's guilt or because of the bad breakup with Tezuka.

They continued their walk to school and Saeki stopped trying to force Fuji to go home. If he's going to continue to 'haunt' his tensai friend, he needed to learn how to be patient otherwise he wouldn't be able to stand being close to Fuji for a long time.

"_I remembered that you liked listening to the legend of Orihime and Hikoboshi. You used to ask your sister to tell you about it the night before Tanabata_," the ghost in the brick-red jersey started a new conversation to break the silence.

Fuji nodded. He learned about the legend behind Tanabata Day from Yumiko. Two lovers, Orihime and Hikoboshi were separated by the river in the outer space and can only meet once a year on Tanabata Day. The brunette always thought that the festival was strange because on that day, people would write their wishes on a piece of paper and hang them on the bamboo tree although Tanabata festival was supposed to be about the reunion of Orihime and Hikoboshi.

"Have any of your wishes come true?" Fuji asked his companion.

Saeki blinked. He didn't expect that question. "_I don't remember the things that I wished for on Tanabata. I never paid attention to details anyway. It's merely just for fun_,"

"You don't think the wishes will come true?" Fuji asked again.

"_To be honest, I don't know_,"

Fuji fell silent and didn't reply after that. They arrived at Seigaku and Fuji went into his classroom. Kikumaru Eiji was excited to see his best friend again. Fuji smiled and went over to his seat beside the redhead. Saeki moved to the window beside the tensai's row and sat on the windowsill while classes were in session.

It was a pretty normal day for both Fuji and Saeki. It was a little hectic the first time Fuji met Saeki in his spirit form but Fuji is now used to having his childhood friend following him around wherever he goes. It's been months since his friend's death and his breakup with Tezuka and Fuji had little success in getting over the latter. He didn't show it much on the outside except to Saeki hence his other friends knew nothing about the struggles he had inside.

"It's raining again," Eiji slumped on his table lethargically while staring out of the window. The weather was affecting a lot of people. It was time for afternoon recess but they didn't feel like going down to the cafeteria to eat and Fuji especially, didn't really have the appetite.

"No practice again today?"

"Tezuka didn't want any of us to fall sick like you, so he cancelled all practice whenever it rained,"

"I see…" Fuji mumbled as he flipped the pages of the book in his hand. There was a colored paper slipped between the sheets of the book. "Eiji, you've hung tanzaku on Tanabata before, right?" the blue-eyed boy asked his classmate.

"Yes, why?"

"Has any of your wishes ever come true?"

"_This question again! What are you up to this time_?" Saeki rolled his eyes but Fuji ignored him and paid attention to his redheaded buddy.

Eiji gave it a little thought for a while before answering. "Hmm…when I was five I wished to be better at back flips. I can do it now, but I wonder if it's really thanks to the wish I made," the acrobat told his friend.

"Fuji-senpai!"

Fuji and Eiji along with the invisible Saeki turned to the sliding door that opened abruptly, their conversation interrupted halfway when Momoshiro and the other regulars appeared behind the door. They heard that Fuji had came to school, so they wanted to check up on him.

"How are you feeling, Fuji?" Oishi asked first. He was the mother hen after all.

"Much better, thank you."

"You should just rest at home; your face is really pale," Kawamura said next.

"Thanks for your concern. I just don't feel good about skipping school for long."

"_Liar. You came here because of something else, didn't you_?"

Fuji's wandering gaze finally focused on the person he was looking for. He was standing at the back behind the others. "Today's practice is cancelled again it seems."

"Aah."

"Too bad it rained today. We can't go and hang our tanzaku on the bamboo trees outside," the fuku-buchou stared outside the window. The cluster of bamboo trees inside their school compound was supposed to be decorated and covered all over with tanzaku but since it was raining, nobody went out to hang theirs. There were a few from those who hung it in the morning before the downpour, but they had been ruined by the rain.

Fuji stared out of the window where the others were looking. There was no sign that the rain would stop any time soon. "Orihime and Hikoboshi can't meet if the rain don't stop by tonight," he said out of the blue and everyone's eyes were back on him again. Sometimes the regulars had trouble understanding the prodigy's words.

"Vega and Altair,"

Fuji turned around when he heard Tezuka's response. The bespectacled boy was looking at him with his usual stoic face. "Orihime is Vega and Hikoboshi is Altair. They are both stars in the sky. How can they possibly not meet?" argued Tezuka.

"Without the magpies they can't cross the river and be together," replied Fuji.

"They can still see each other from across the milky way; isn't that enough?"

"Distance is the most painful thing for lovers. Of course, I don't expect you to understand."

Fuji's words kept Tezuka from replying. Whether they were talking about the stars or the legend, or perhaps themselves, Tezuka decided not to continue. It would only lead to unnecessary problems. They have come to an agreement to forget about what had happened between them. It's best that things remain the way they are now even though he thinks that Fuji is reluctant to cooperate.

"Are they talking about Orihime and Hikoboshi or what?" Eiji whispered to his doubles partner. No one could exactly figure out what the conversation between their number one and number two players was about.

The bell rang, indicating that recess time is over. The regulars returned to their classrooms after they said goodbye to Fuji and Eiji. Fuji flipped through the book on his desk once again and stopped at the page where the tanzaku was slipped in between. He stared at it for a long time, deep in thought.

"_You want to hang it outside_?"

"You're going to tell me not to do it?"

"_Only because of the rain_."

"You must think I'm being stupid."

"_Not stupid, just irrational_."

"It's Tanabata, I just want to hang my tanzaku," Fuji closed his book with a thud. He looked a little bit annoyed.

"_If you think it's worth a try, go ahead. Just don't make your fever worse. It's boring haunting a sick person_," Saeki reminded the shorter teen. He didn't like the idea of Fuji out in the rain when he was supposed to stay in bed and recover from his fever. It bugged him that he couldn't do anything for Fuji when the boy was sick except to watch the other sleep through during the day and night.

"Fuji-kun, what's the answer for this question?" the teacher suddenly called Fuji's name. He had entered the classroom and started the lesson while Fuji was whispering to Saeki.

"December 7, 1941," he stood up from his seat and answered.

"That's correct," said the teacher and he told Fuji to sit down.

"_Did you even hear the question_?" Saeki frowned. He wondered how Fuji was able to answer the question correctly without even paying attention.

"I don't need to," Fuji replied simply. "Its history period, he's talking about World War II and the Japanese bombing attack. Other than the Pearl Harbor incident, there's nothing else," Fuji explained to the spirit.

Saeki was in awe. He knew Fuji is a tensai in tennis, but now it is proven that he is a genius beyond that as well. He moved back to the windowsill where he usually sat and waited until the period is over. Fuji never looked at the tanzaku in his book again but Saeki noticed that he kept staring out of the window. The big tree outside blocked the view but the bamboo bush in the school compound could still be seen.

The rain still didn't show any signs of letting up even after school ended. Some of the students who brought their umbrella had already went home while others waited at the entrance, hoping that the rain would stop soon. Fuji had brought his umbrella but he was in no hurry to go home. He stood in front of the entrance, sheltered from the rain while watching the bamboo trees that sway from left to right in the strong wind that came with the downpour.

"_Fuji, where are you going_?" Saeki caught up with the brunette who suddenly turned around and walked back inside.

"I need another tanzaku."

"_Didn't you already have one_?"

Fuji didn't answer, leaving Saeki with no choice but to follow his friend silently as they headed back to the classroom. He went straight to his desk and searched about in the drawer for a while before he finally pulled out a piece of paper. Taking out his pencil case from his school bag, Fuji used a marker pen and quickly scribbled his new wish on the tanzaku paper. He then headed back to the entrance but first stopped beside a trash can and dumped in the first tanzaku he wrote.

"_What's wrong with the first wish_?" Saeki tried to get an answer out of the other teen.

"That wish already came true."

"_What_?"

"The wish I wrote before had already came true. I don't need to hang that tanzaku anymore," Fuji gave a more detailed explanation.

The blue-eyed boy dashed out from under the shelter of the school building across the compound to get to the bamboo bush. Saeki couldn't stop him; the only way the Rokkaku ex fuku-buchou could restrain Fuji was if he could focus his energy and grab the boy. Saeki didn't have enough time for that and Fuji was already halfway across the courtyard to the bamboo trees.

"_If your wish already came true, then what are you wishing for now_?" Saeki was still not satisfied with Fuji's answers.

Fuji was soaking wet. His white cotton school shirt stuck to his skin and his hair was dripping with water. Ignoring the coldness that pierced right through to the bone, he stood in front of one of the bamboo trees and jumped to reach the tallest part, hooking the tanzaku that he already covered with a layer of sticky tape so that it wouldn't be ruined by the rain water onto a branch. He then let go of the bamboo tree and took a step back, looking up at the paper he just hung. The tennis prodigy brought his palms together and closed his eyes as he offered up a prayer.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The hazel-eyed teen walked past the trash can after a certain brunette left, noting the) blue colored tanzaku lying on top of a pile of crumpled papers inside it. He watched the owner of the tanzaku made his way across the school compound, toward the bamboo trees. The boy was thoroughly soaked by the rain but he was determined to hang his wish on the bamboo tree. The tensai left after he accomplished what he had set out to do).

Tezuka opened his umbrella and made his way over to the bamboo trees. The rain had come to a drizzle but it would take a while before it would fully stop. The Seigaku tennis captain tilted his head up and looked at the piece of paper tied to the bamboo tree. He wondered if Orihime and Hikoboshi would really be able to meet that night.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

_I want to always be by his side; that was what I wished for._

_I am always by his side regardless of how he feels about me, aren't I? _

_Therefore, I wish that the rain will stop tonight so that the magpies can help Orihime and Hikoboshi meet. _

_Not being able to see your beloved is upsetting but to only be able to see your beloved from afar is a torture._

_No one else should know this pain._

_

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_

**-Owari-**

**A/N: **I apologize if I disappoint everyone for not having a 'real' ghost this time! I hope Fuji's out-of-body experience is good enough XD

**Hate me if you have to, but please review!**


	5. 5th Ghost: Sacred Tribute

I'm back people! First of all, I'm terribly sorry for the delay as usual and I hope this chapter could make up for it. Thanks for Blue-chan who spent her nights after NaNo to beta this fic and finished it on time for my birthday! Yay! This fic is one year old already! I hope I will get more readers as this fic grow older! Thanks also for people who helped me when my muse flew away.

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It's time for reviews' reply!

**Yukirimi**: Don't worry, Fuji is strong. He will overcome it, eventually.

**Tacuma**: Actually, the last part was Fuji's prayer. What he had written on the tanzaku was plainly 'please let Orihime meet Hikoboshi'. But I didn't write it in there. Thanks you very much, I'm glad you liked it.

**animesrule9**: LOL, Which Karate Kid were you referring to? I've seen them, but I couldn't recall which one is similar. I guess it's just mere coincidence. I'm glad you took your time to read!

**lemon-and-chai**: Thanks for continuing reading this! Why did you change your name? Anyway, hmm, maybe Tezuka do care about him still, but let's just leave it at that. I wonder if Saeki was really the magpie too.

**AdvanaRene**: I hope I'm not too cruel to write sad things. I have this thing about angst with fluffy ending –sweatdrops-

And to others who spent time reading as well, I hope you enjoyed yourselves!

Happy Reading! ;3

Fate~

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**A/N: PLease do pay attention to the details/explanation below before reading. It would help you understand the story better.**

**Bon/Obon Festival**: One of the festivals the Japanese celebrate to commemorate their deceased relatives.

**Bon Odori**: The dance during the festival.

**Ondo**: The song during the dance.

**Tourou Nagashi**: Floating lantern. Paper lanterns are released on the rivers to 'assist' or light the path of the deceased back to the afterworld.

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**Title**: Sacred Tribute (Fifth Ghost)

**Author**: Wara Ningyo

**Rating**: T

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**Fifth Ghost: Sacret Tribute**

The heat was killing all the players, literally. It was in the midst of summer and tennis practice continued with fail. Imagine running twenty laps every morning and afternoon under the scorching sun and that was only if Tezuka was in a good mood. If he happened to wake up on the wrong side of the bed, the tennis club members sometimes had to run up to fifty laps. Tezuka was one scary captain. The heat of the summer sun was not strong enough to melt the icy heart of the bespectacled teen.

On the other hand, the heat was the least of Fuji's worries. A few days ago he started seeing 'others' aside the spirit of his friend, Saeki. Initially, he couldn't tell them apart from the normal living humans but after a while he noticed that they were different and it scared him. The fact that he had been followed by an old lady unsettled Fuji. He had never met the woman before. She was dressed in a simple kimono with her hair tied up in a bun behind her head. She wore a smile on her face and looked like a kind woman except for the fact that she was a ghost. What scared Fuji the most was that Saeki, despite being 'categorized' as being in the same group as the old lady claimed that he never saw her. Whenever Fuji told him to look at the place where the old lady stood, she disappeared from sight. Fuji thought the heat was making him see things, but the recurrence of the old lady watching him from afar was far from coincidental. The last thing Fuji needed was to be haunted by a second earthbound spirit.

The blue eyed brunette decided to sit out of practice. He was not feeling too well and had been daydreaming a lot. Tezuka gave him permission to take a five minutes break so Fuji headed toward the clubroom to seek shelter from the heat of the sun. As he closed the clubroom door behind him, Fuji caught another glimpse of the old woman he saw before. His legs began shaking and his body trembled. Not knowing what to do, Fuji screamed his lungs out. He covered his face with his palms and crouched down on the floor.

"Don't stop practicing, I'll go check out what happened." The sound of Fuji screaming was heard by everybody outside and Tezuka rushed toward the clubroom after he gave his orders. The captain twisted the doorknob and tried to open the door but Fuji was blocking it. "Fuji, what happened? You're blocking the door," he managed to ask Fuji through the slightly parted door.

Hearing Tezuka's voice, the brunette quickly opened the door and pulled the taller youth inside. He was shaking like a leaf as he buried his face in the buchou's chest. "Why is she following me? I don't know her."

Tezuka didn't really know how to react to Fuji's everyday surprises. He didn't have the heart to push the smaller boy away when he heard tremble in the other's voice. Fuji sounded so scared and his face was pale white, like as if he had seen a ghost (which he did but Tezuka have no idea about it).

"Fuji, we are the only ones here."

Fuji raised his head a little and looked toward the direction where he had spotted the old woman before. She was no longer there. "She was…right there."

"Who?"

"I don't know. I've never met the old lady before."

"Fuji, is this another joke of yours?" Tezuka asked suddenly.

Fuji's brows creased. "You think I made this up?"

Tezuka sighed. He didn't mean to put it in a harsh way but he had had enough of the weird changes in Fuji's behavior. The incident in the library and the conversation on Tanabata Day had made things very awkward between them. Tezuka didn't want to bring up things about their break up, but it seems like he needed to remind Fuji of their current status. "Fuji, ever since our brea—"

"Five minutes is up. We should return to practice, buchou," Fuji looked up at Tezuka and smiled with his eyes closed. He didn't want to hear another word coming from his ex anymore. Tezuka knew that mask and he knew that it was a sign that he should not press the issue but instead act normal.

"Aah."

xoxoxoxoxo

"_Are you sure it's not one of your relatives_?" Saeki who had finally believed Fuji's claims asked.

"I've never seen her before and I know all my relatives," Fuji said firmly. "Saeki," Fuji called his friend's name.

"Yes?"

"How do I get rid of the _others_? Although I don't look like it, I'm really scared. I don't feel good whenever they are near me."

"_It's almost time for Obon, until then just bear with them_."

Fuji gave Saeki a '_are you kidding me_' look. "Saeki, people don't see dead spirits unless there is something wrong with their head," the brunette tried to make a point.

"_You're right_," the ghost agreed. "_Isn't that exactly why you can see them_?"

Fuji was not in the mood to argue. Summer was wearing him down. Every time _they_ came near him, Fuji felt the urge to throw up. Sudden chills would run though his body and piercing to the core of his bones like blades made from icicles. It was not like that when Saeki first showed up a few months ago. Sometimes it got worse and he really did throw up when he felt the presence of those entities. Fuji did not tell anybody because he did not want any of them to worry about him and blame it on the heat for making feel unwell.

Fuji was really bothered by it; if the spirits had just wandered around minding their own business, it would not have made Fuji this uneasy, but the old lady was very persistent in following him around. She was even there at tennis practice, standing beside Tezuka. It almost made Fuji scream on the spot (the fact that female ghosts would always find their way to get Tezuka's attention was too irksome to Fuji). The old lady was there at the school gate after school too and she followed Fuji home. The disturbed teen tried his best to act normal. However, what struck him as unusual was the fact that whenever the old lady was around, he did not feel the same nausea or chill like he did when he encountered other ghosts.

"Syusuke, come inside," Yumiko appeared at the front door and pulled her brother inside.

"I was just about to do that."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm okay. Why do you ask?"

"Syusuke, do you have anything you want to tell me?"

Fuji shook his head. He wasn't ready to share anything about what had happened to him lately with his sister.

"If you change your mind, tell me, okay?"

"I will neesan. Don't worry."

Yumiko sighed and left her brother alone to be by himself. Fuji shifted his gaze to Saeki who had come through the door a while ago. Yumiko's behavior was a little odd. It was as if she knew what was going on.

"Is she still outside?" Fuji asked Saeki.

"_Who_?"

"The old lady."

"_I didn't see any old lady, but I saw others_."

Fuji bit his lips. He wished they would disappear soon. He was thankful that _they_ did not go overboard and enter his house but that did not really put Fuji's mind at ease. The old lady had been following Fuji home. It was only a matter of time before she came in uninvited.

"_Maybe you should consult your sister about this_," Saeki suggested to his childhood friend. They both knew that Yumiko was more sensitive to such things compared to most people and that she was good at tarot reading. She might be able to help her little brother out.

"Maybe you're right," Fuji said and as he pulled the curtains of his window shut. The old lady wasn't there, but like Saeki told him, there were several spirits wandering around outside the house. They were not haunting Fuji in particular but it was enough to give Fuji the chills and make him feel nauseous. He walked to the room across his and knocked on the door. Yumiko invited him to enter and Fuji entered the room upon hearing his sister's invitation to come in, closing the door behind him once he was inside.

"Ready to talk now?" the older sibling asked.

Fuji nodded. "Promise me you won't think I'm hallucinating and out of my mind," Fuji began. Yumiko nodded as proof that she understood. "I saw ghosts," confessed Fuji.

Yumiko laughed when she heard that. Fuji looked offended; of all people, he had thought that Yumiko would be the one who would believe him. "Syusuke, who are you kidding? Saw? You are seeing them even now, don't you?" his sister looked in Saeki's direction.

Both Saeki and Fuji's eyes widened. They wondered if Yumiko could really see him. "_Yumiko-neesan, you can see me_?" Saeki asked, attempting to confirm whether or not the glance the woman had shot in his direction was just pure coincidence or if she had really seen him.

"Only since a few days ago. Since _Obon_ is just around the corner, I became more sensitive to your presence, as well as to the many others out there," explained Yumiko before shifting her gaze back towards her little brother. "How long have you been able to see _them_?"

"Less than a week ago but Saeki has been around for a while."

"Let me guess, since the day you went to the cemetery?"

Fuji nodded. He had been acting strangely from that time. It's not hard Ever since that time, he had been acting strangely and it was not hard for Yumiko to see that. Fuji and Saeki took turns recounting the events of the past few months, taking care to leave out anything related to Tezuka.

"Did any of them try to hurt you?" Yumiko asked when she found out how Fuji's body had reacted to his new experience.

"No, but there is one that has been following me around. She hasn't done anything yet, but she's getting closer to me day by day."

"The Obaasan in the kimono?"

"You saw her too?" Fuji was shocked, but somehow relieved when he heard that from his sister.

"She was outside when you came home but you don't need to worry about her. She won't do anything to you,"

"_You know her_?"

"Not really. But trust me, there's nothing to be concerned about regarding her presence. However, I'm not sure about the rest." Yumiko get up from her seat and walked toward her dressing table. She pulled one of the drawers out and took something from a small wooden box inside. "I had this when I found out I was able to see things that shouldn't be seen. Take it with you; it might help," the older woman handed Fuji a protection charm. The younger brunette took it from his sister and inspected it. It looked like an ordinary charm that they can get from the shrines for 500yen, but since Yumiko said it would help there was no reason for Fuji to doubt. Besides, it's not like there's anybody else he could rely on.

The older Fuji told her brother to take a rest so that his body could store more energy. Fuji did as he was told and returned to his room. Saeki was about to follow him when Yumiko called his name. "_Yes,Yumiko-neesan_?" the white haired boy turned to look at the older woman.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"_Because your brother needs me_."

"I can see that but you don't belong here anymore. Your presence might help Syusuke live through the hard times, but staying here is not good for you. There's somewhere else that is much better for you to be."

"_I will go there, but I need to make sure that Fu— Syusuke gets rid of his guilt first. I don't want my death to eat him up inside. If you haven't noticed, he's not the strong Syusuke he used to be_."

Yumiko had to agree with that. He knew the middle child the most and right now Fuji was not the same person as he was before. However, she couldn't let Saeki stay around for too long. "Syusuke will work things out somehow. You should consider crossing over to the other world; maybe you could do so during the Obon festival along with the rest of _them_."

"_I know you are concerned for me neesan, and I'm glad that you do. But I'm really worried about Syusuke_."

"Just give it another thought, alright?"

"I will," Saeki told the older Fuji. "I better go check on him now," the young ghost excused himself. He let himself into Fuji's room by passing through the door, watched by Yumiko. She sighed upon thinking about the intricate situation but the only thing she could do was to assist them for now.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

"Syusuke, are you going to wear your yukata?" Yumiko asked his younger brother. It was finally the day of the Bon festival and Fuji was planning to go and celebrate the occasion. He promised Eiji he would join him and the other regulars at the shrine in their neighborhood where the festival was held annually. "Want me to help you put it on?" Yumiko offered.

Fuji declined. He knew how to put on a yukata; it wasn't that hard. He had worn the dark blue checkered yukata before and it didn't take long before he was all set up and ready to go. Fuji put on his geta and headed out toward the place he promised to meet up with the others. Yumiko said she would go there later as well as soon as she was done with her yukata and makeup.

"_You looked more at ease today_," Saeki said after he noticed Fuji was not as disturbed as he was a few days ago.

"Today is the end of the Obon festival. All the spirits will be returning to the afterworld," Fuji paused and continued, "which means, I won't be seeing _them_ anymore, except for you of course."

"_Fuji_…" Saeki murmured at first. "_I know I told you at the beginning that I wouldn't leave until you stop feeling guilty but I was thinking, maybe…just maybe_ ―"

"Fuji! Over here!" The guys who had arrived at the foot of the stairs up to the shrine earlier called out to the petite tensai. The interruption made Saeki change his mind about what he was going to say and decided to continue with the conversation later.

"They're going to start the bon odori now. Come on," Eiji tugged Fuji's hands. The music had already started playing in the background and there were people gathered around stage dancing in a circle. Fuji joined the visitors as well as the regulars too. He decided not to pay attention to the _others_ who were among them.

"Just a while more," mumbled the tensai.

"Did you say something?" Eiji turned to Fuji when he heard his friend uttered something.

"Nothing. I'm just going to get a drink. You want anything?"

"Nope. I'm fine."

"I'll be right back," Fuji excused himself.

There were many food and game shops around the shrine, specifically set up for the festival. Even though Obon is a festival of remembering the dead, the celebration is not as solemn as people thought it should be. Fuji bought himself a bottle of soda and found a quiet place to sit down and drink. He could see the river flowing underneath the shrine and there were dim lights illuminating the river bank. It looked so peaceful in contrast to the centre of the shrine where people were dancing to the ondo.

"_I'm glad to see you looking better compared to the past few days_," said a voice. Fuji quickly looked for the owner of the voice and found the old lady standing a short distance from him. The tensai quickly put his hand into the sleeve of his yukata, searching for the protection charm Yumiko had given to him. "_Please don't be afraid. I'm not here to hurt you_," said the old lady after she noticed what Fuji was doing.

The kind expression on the old lady's face made Fuji believe her. "Obaasan, why have you been following me?" he finally found the courage to ask.

"_I just wanted to get to know you, that's all. You seemed like a very good boy. I wonder what that person was thinking. I'm sorry that you got hurt because of him_."

"That person?"

"_You will be fine. Have faith and be true to yourself. You have my blessing_."

Fuji didn't quite understand what the old lady meant but before he could ask more, she disappeared. He wondered what did the old lady meant when she said she only wanted to get to know him. He was sure that he had no connection to the old lady at all.

"Fuji?" the boy heard his name being called again, this time by a different person.

"Tezuka, what are you doing here?"

"The guys were trying to make me dance on stage," the tennis captain answered briefly. He paused for a moment of silence and asked, "And why are you here alone?"

"I was talking to an old lady a moment ago before you came. She already left."

Tezuka's brows knitted together. Fuji will always be Fuji. "The same one you saw in the clubroom?"

"You believe me? That's a first."

"So you admit you were just making things up?"

"No, but I guess I was delusional since the first time I realized that I was in love with you,"

Tezuka pressed his lips together in a thin line. He tried not to pay attention to Fuji's confession because it would only make things weird again. "My grandmother would love to have a grandson like you," the captain changed the subject. "She said I'm too much like my grandfather. She wanted a more cheerful grandson," Tezuka elaborated on his own without any prompting from the tensai, something he rarely did.

"I believe that is something she has to discuss with your mother. There's no hope with you as the only grandson," the petite youth chuckled.

"She can't. She passed away a long time ago."

"I'm sorry," Fuji quickly apologized. He didn't know Tezuka's grandmother had passed away. He only knew that Tezuka's grandfather lived with him; he never heard about Tezuka's grandmother before.

"It was already her time back then. All I could do was to let her go," Tezuka suddenly turned to Fuji. "Just like Saeki. There's nothing we can do about it."

Fuji was rather surprised to hear that coming from Tezuka. He never thought Tezuka cared enough about what happened to his childhood friend. Fuji didn't know how to reply to that. He didn't want to be sad his whole life but at the same time, he felt like he didn't deserve happiness; in his mind, he believed he was the cause of Saeki's death. In the end, Fuji didn't say anything to the teen who sat next to him.

Eiji and the others found Tezuka and Fuji not long after that. They told the two tennis players that the dance was over. Everyone was heading down to the river for the Tourou nagashi ceremony. From where they were standing, they could see many people walk down to the river to float the paper lanterns. The river looked like it was glowing due to all the lanterns that were lit by candles floating on the water surface.

"Tourou nagashi," mumbled Fuji.

Eiji looked at his best friend. He was almost dumbfounded when Fuji left and headed down to where the people released the paper lanterns. The regulars looked at one another and decided to follow Fuji. They watched as Fuji bought himself one of the paper lanterns and made his way to the river bank.

"_Fuji_," Saeki finally appeared after he was missing in action for the whole evening.

"Saeki! You're just the ghost I was looking for," Fuji smiled.

"_What are you doing_?"

"I'm floating this lantern for you."

"_You do know that the purpose of floating these lanterns is to guide dead souls back to the afterworld, right? I thought I already told you I'm not leaving_."

"I know. I just had the urge to do it."

Fuji knelt down to light the candle inside the paper lantern with the match that he got along with the lantern. The blue eyed tensai pulled out his wallet from the sleeve of his yukata and took out a photo. It was a photo of him and his departed friend that have been kept there since the day he lost Saeki. He wanted Saeki to be close to him and hence had put the picture there. Using his slim fingers Fuji carefully slid the photo neatly into the paper lantern and made sure it that it wouldn't be blown away by the wind.

"Saeki, I know you don't blame me for what happened to you," Fuji said softly so that nobody other than the white haired spirit could hear, "but we can never change the fact that you lost your life and I lost my one and only childhood friend," the brunette moved closer to the water and allowed the paper lantern to float on its surface. Slowly, the current swept the lantern little by little down the stream. "This guilt is the only way I could ask for your forgiveness," he stood up and faced Saeki.

Saeki could only smile at his dearest friend. Fuji looked so strong at the moment but in truth, he was broken inside. They watched as the paper lantern joined the rest of the others that had been released by the visitors before.

Out of the blue, another paper lantern joined the one Fuji had had just released only moments before. It was nothing surprising for a lantern to float along with the rest but there was something different about that particular lantern. There were keychains shaped like tennis balls hooked to the lantern and it was after that that Fuji saw another odd looking lantern with a wristband in it. Soon, there were other lanterns with something tennis related in them. Both Fuji and Saeki were shocked when a miniature boat with a big paper lantern in the middle floated in between the rest.

"_That's Rokkaku's jersey_," Saeki noticed the brick-red jersey that hung at the front of the miniature boat. Fuji and Saeki turned around and saw their friends and all of the tennis players they knew releasing paper lanterns by the river bank.

Oishi and a few other tennis players approached Fuji, although they were unaware that Saeki's spirit was among them. "You're not the only one who lost a friend, Fuji. Everybody came here because they also felt the loss of Saeki," the fuku-buchou explained the situation to Fuji.

Fuji quickly recognized Saeki's teammates even though they were dressed in yutakas. There were people from their rival teams. He saw Atobe, Oshitari, Gakuto and others from Hyoutei, Sanada and Yukimura from Rikkai Dai, and many more. Yuuta was there as well with the rest of his teammates from St. Rudolph, floating their own paper lanterns in honor of Saeki.

Fuji's knees suddenly went weak and he dropped to the ground. "Gomenasai…" Fuji mumbled. "Gomenasai, Saeki. Gomen," Fuji's voice trembled. Looking at so many paper lanterns and the people who came to pay a tribute to Saeki made Fuji realized that he had robbed Saeki from those people. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Fuji repeated over and over. "Gomen, Saeki. Gomenasai."

Fuji's sudden outburst made the others feel the pain and loss as well. They had never seen Fuji on the ground crying so loudly like that before. Fuji kept apologizing to Saeki, telling how sorry he was for everything that happened. The guys from the Rokkaku team tried to calm down the fragile brunette as well, but he just wouldn't stop crying.

"Why did you have to die? Why did you have to leave me too?"

Fuji cried like he never cried before. As more lanterns floated down the stream, Fuji's tears flowed uncontrollably down his cheeks. No comforting words could ease his guilt or bring Saeki back to life. He felt like he could never ever forget the sorrow of Saeki's death.

Tezuka could only stand at the back and watch. He knew Fuji for years now but this was the first time he saw Fuji drowned in grief. If he had still been Fuji's boyfriend, he would have been the first to hold him and pull the shorter brunette into a tight embrace. But he was not. There was nothing he could do for the poor tensai anymore.

"Shouldn't you be the one by his side now, comforting him and soothing away all his pain?" Atobe trapped Tezuka with a question to which he already knew the answer to.

The stoic guy could only bite his lower lip and curl his fingers into fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. It was too much. Too much for him as well as for Fuji.

"It doesn't have to be this way, you know that. What are you trying to prove anyway?"

Before Tezuka could draw blood from biting his own lip and burying his fingernails so deeply into the middle of his palm that they bit into the flesh, the bespectacled teen dashed away, leaving the scene by the riverbank. "Yudan sezu ni ikou," he reminded himself. If only things were as easily done as they were said.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

"_Neesan_," Saeki appeared beside Yumiko who had seen it all.

The older woman sighed. "I had no idea he was suffering this much."

"That's why I can't leave him. Not now. Not until he can forgive himself."

"I guess there's nothing I can do then. Saeki-kun, I'll leave Syusuke to you. Yoroshiku ne."

Saeki nodded to Yumiko before he walked toward the crowd of teenage boys that had gathered around Fuji. He didn't go near because he knew that it his presence would only make Fuji cry even more, so he stayed by the side and waited until the boy had calmed down. Saeki shifted his view to the river where all of the lanterns floated smoothly, following the current. One by one, the paper lanterns that were released as a remembrance of him joined the rest. That was when he noticed that a ghost could also shed tears too.

_**~Owari~**_

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**A/N**: I've been dying to write this chapter, but sadly when the time comes, I lost my muse yet again and it turned out badly. I hope you guys can forgive me for writing this junk and I will try my hardest to compose a much better composition. If there's any question regarding Bon festival, you could simply search using the net or you could just ask me.

Since its my birthday, please be nice and leave a review? Pretty please?


	6. 6th Ghost: Nakimushi

Hello, hello, hello! Ohisashiburi desu! 2 years of hiatus huh…I'm sorry if I make you guys waiting. Thanks for all the reviews and support! I hope this chapter will worth the wait. I initially intended to post sooner, but I broke up with my muse, then we reconciled just a while ago. And it took one hell of a long time to edit this piece of uhh…work. A heads up for you, this is half of what I planned for this chapter. I realized that it's too long, so I broke it into 2 parts. I have not written the second part yet, but lets hope its not going to take another year. My friend did an excellent job in beta-ing this piece. If you find this chapter good, that's all her doing.

And so, let's take a look at prev chapter's review;

**Tacuma**: I wanna see you cryyyy :p

**animesrule9**: After you mentioned that, I went to watch it. I think it's the same festival, but the Japanese one is a bit different. And about whether it's good or bad, I think their plans a little backfired. They didn't expect Fuji would be that upset.

**silver starlight serpant**: Thanks, please enjoy this chapter as well!

**lemon-and-chai**: Saeki is very calm and collected. I had the chance of doing a research on him again for this new chapter, so I was glad I didn't portrayed him wrongly in the last chapter.

**UmiHoshi**: Too bad that you don't really favour Saeki, but please give the next chapters a chance even though Saeki is also an important character!

**BleuFleur**: Your review (as well as others, of course) really, really made my day. So sorry that I didn't respond right away, but thanks so much. I'm glad I managed to bring out the emotions in this fic. If possible I wanted everyone to feel each of the character's pain, even that brick wall Tezuka.

**Seishirou Hitsugaya**: Thank you for picking up this fic to read. This is a promise; as long as I'm alive, this fic will have a proper ending. But of course it will take time. Have patience with me ok J

Please tell me if I missed any reply to your reviews. I'd be happy to send you a message ^_^

Oh, and there's someone who requested this chapter to be dedicated to her birthday, but I lost the message, so I forgot who it is…So, I'm dedicating this chapter to that person.

~Fate

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**Title**: Nakimushi (sixth ghost)

**Author**: Wara Ningyo

**Rating**: T

As usual I would explain a thing or two about this fic before you start reading. Since there are a lot of Japanese terms, please refer to the endnote at the bottom of this page. If there is anything that's hard to understand, you can leave me a message. I'd be happy to answer them for you. Also, there might be different versions to the things that I write; the ones I use for my stories are usually the versions I prefer.

**Recap from last chapter: **Fuji had been seeing lingering spirits around him aside from Saeki. Yumiko advised Saeki to move on to the other world, but during the Obon, Fuji broke down due to the tribute their friends had for Saeki.

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**Sixth Ghost: Nakimushi**

_I'm too young to die. In a few months, I would have turned fifteen; the springtime of my youth as Oji would have said. There were a thousand and one things I wanted to do and achieve. Tennis had been a major part of those dreams I had; I told myself back then that I'd do whatever it takes to go pro and have the glory of winning the Grand Slam._

_Just my luck that I had to run into that gang of thugs and was left to bleed slowly to death after being repeatedly stabbed by them. Dying a violent death at such a young age is pretty screwed up._

_One thing's sure though, watching my friend slowly destroy himself from the guilt of my death is worse. Fuji's the main reason why I can't leave this world peacefully. I don't know how much tears he has shed since I died and whether they were for me or for Seigaku's brick wall, Tezuka Kunimitsu. One thing I do know is that the Fuji I knew before I died wasn't one to cry so easily. The Fuji now is a crybaby._

_What happened that night on Obon was way more than what he could handle. Afterlife can wait; Fuji Syuusuke needs my help._

**~TeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu~**

Fuji stayed in bed for two days straight. After that night at the shrine when he was overwhelmed by the tremendous amount of guilt over Saeki's death, the petite boy had locked himself up in his room, refusing to come out. His pillow was soaked with countless tears shed that had since dried up. Aside from lying on his side and staring at the wall next to his bed, the tensai had done nothing else the past two days. Fuji could not bring himself to even meet Saeki's eyes, much less talk to him; it just hurt too much. His best friend's presence was a constant reminder that he had caused the white-haired youth to lose his life.

The occasional whispers along the corridor outside his room told him that his friend had found another person to talk to aside from himself. Obon had already come and gone yet Yumiko could still sense the ghost of Fuji's best friend from Rokkaku and even talk to him though she could not psychically see him. Perhaps it was the result of his sister having gotten used to the other's presence about the house. Going by the hushed voices he could vaguely make out on occasion, it was not hard to figure out that he was the topic of their discussion.

Blocking out their voices, the honey-haired boy shifted his position on the bed for the umpteenth time as he tried to fall asleep and simply forget everything, even if only for a short while.

**~TeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu~**

Dusk had fallen by the time he awoke and found Saeki sitting at the foot of his bed, a mixture of anger and disappointment warring for dominance on the white haired youths' handsome features. The awkward silence between the two of them continued for awhile until Saeki spoke up.

"_You're an idiot. Did you even consider my feelings_?"

"You're angry that you died and I'm the one to be blamed."

The ghost heaved a sigh, frustrated. "_That's why you're an idiot. Were you the one who stabbed me_?"

The question stunned Fuji and his eyes widened in surprise. Images of how he had envisioned Saeki to have died haunted him in his dreams almost every night; the thought that he could even do something like that to his childhood friend almost made him want to throw up.

"_I'm going to say this again as many times as I need to. Like it or not, I won't leave until you have settled that guilt of yours over my death so deal with it. If you're really the Fuji Syuusuke I know, stop moping around here and go have dinner. Your family's worried enough as it is over you_."

Fuji did not move but merely remained seated, staring at the wall blankly through his good friend's transparent form. Why was he so upset, the petite youth did not know himself. Was it really because of Saeki's death or was there another reason for the strong emotions raging within that had turned him into his current self? The anxiety that he felt...was it merely due to numerous unfortunate events that had happened to him? The Fuji Syuusuke that he knew was not that weak.

"If I returned to my former self and continued living life the way I used to, would you be satisfied and move on?"

Saeki nodded. He wanted Fuji to return back to his normal self. No more crying and weeping when he went to bed at night. The Fuji he knew would have passed sadistic remarks on juniors who rubbed him the wrong way and continued getting on Tezuka's nerves despite being dumped by said stone wall.

For Fuji, all he wanted was for Saeki to be able to rest in peace.

If that was what he needed to do in order to enable Saeki to pass on with no regrets, he would do it. With what little energy he had after skipping meals for two whole days, Fuji got up and slowly made his way out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

His family was in the midst of dinner when they saw the pale, haggard-looking youth enter the kitchen. All talk ceased as they rushed over to the boy who was swaying slightly from exhaustion and helped him over to the dining table before hurriedly setting a pair of chopsticks and a bowl full of rice in front of him. Nudging various plates of dishes till they were all within his reach, they sat and watched as Fuji slowly began to eat.

_You just need to be Fuji Syuusuke again._

**~TeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu~**

The summer heat did not stop the Seigaku Tennis team from holding their morning practices, or to be precise, it did not stop the team's captain from holding practices whenever he saw fit. The tennis courts were filled with sweaty, tennis-obsessed young teens.

After the previous evening's talk with Saeki, Fuji returned back to practice with the team, determined to make up for the couple of days that he had skipped trainings and more importantly, revert back to the 'Fuji' that Saeki once knew before that fateful accident had happened. It was supposed to be easy, considering how he had done an excellent job at being inconspicuously sadistic while maintaining his gentleman façade all this while. He needed to convince Saeki that it would be alright to leave the petite brunette and move on to netherworld.

"..ji! Fuji!"

Classes were over for the morning; it was now time for lunch break. Kikumaru sprang out of his seat the moment the teacher stepped out of the classroom and signaled impatiently at his best friend not to waste anymore time in the classroom least the school cafeteria ran out of the best lunch sets before they had made their way down. He knew that Fuji wouldn't mind eating bread if that was the only thing left available but it was his duty as a friend to cheer the brunette up and what better way to raise one's spirits than to eat delicious food?

"Ne ne, Fuji," The redhead started as they made their way to the cafeteria on the ground floor of a separate building. "I've heard rumours about a ghost recently."

The word 'ghost' caught Fuji's attention and piqued his interest. If Kikumaru was talking about a spirit, there's one walking right beside them now, namely Saeki. The shorter teen unconsciously glanced at Saeki, a doubtful expression on his face. The teenage ghost shrugged; there were only two individuals who had been able to see him, specifically Fuji and his sister, Yumiko.

"Did the rumour say what kind of ghost it was?"

"Fujiko knows the story of Hanako-san, don't you? I heard the girls in our class said it keeps appearing in the first years' girls toilet."

"I see. Toire no Hanako-san*. But that's a surprise."

"Hmm? Surprise?"

"If you hadn't told me about it, I would never have known that there was a ghost haunting the first years' girls toilet, right? That means the rumour started only recently; I wonder where did Hanako-san came from?"

"I don't know-nya. But because of that the first year girls are too scared to go there. The girls in our class have been complaining about having to share the toilet with the first years. They're very noisy-nya." The redhead grumbled.

In the midst of their conversation, Oishi joined them, with Tezuka not too far behind. The fuku-buchou had heard what Kikumaru told Seigaku's tensai. The rumours had spread like wildfire after Obon. Moreover, the rumours originated from the girls and hence spread rapidly as the juicy piece of gossip got around during their free time at school.

"Before you complain about the girls being nosy, you should listen to how you sound first, Eiji," the fuku-buchou teasingly said. Eiji pouted and sulked for a moment but then grinned almost immediately again; they were both used to each other's teasing and hence didn't take offense. Fuji used to do that with Tezuka too, although the tensai never did sulk unlike his best friend.

Tezuka never did reply to his teasing either aside from shooting him a glare or merely just staring at him.

As Kikumaru and Oishi walked past them to the cafeteria, lost in their own world, Tezuka was left standing alone by Fuji's side as awkward silence descended upon them. Back then, the quietness had been comforting to the tensai. Some of their friends couldn't believe that they were really not talking and even went so far as to come up with the idea that they were communicating through telepathy, unlikely as the possibility was. Now, the awkward silence was merely another painful reminder of how things had since changed and of the dull ache in his heart that had never gone away ever since the day they broke up.

Fuji decided to break the awkward silence before things got too uncomfortable for the both of them. The smaller teen opened his mouth right at the same time that the taller youth decided to speak. The clash of words rendered them silent again until Fuji urged the other to start first.

Giving in, Tezuka asked; "How are you?"

"How am I? The usual," Fuji replied in a neutral voice. He knew exactly what Tezuka was referring to but replied with nothing more than a generic response. It was obvious that he hadn't taken the whole Obon incident well but telling Tezuka about the details wouldn't change anything.

"Good. Everybody's been worried."

"Would that include you?"

"Of course. We are friends. Teammates."

"We used to be more than that..." Fuji softly said between gritted teeth as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. "but let bygones be bygones. My turn to ask now."

"Hmm?"

"Is it true about the Hanako-chan rumours?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're in the student council. When such problems arise, everybody turns to you, right Mr. President?"

Fuji hit the nail in the head. He knew the things that happen in Tezuka's life like the back of his hand. Indeed Tezuka had received complaints from the girls about having to share toilet with their underclassmen. He had also notified the first year female students that they should disregard the rumours and keep clear of the upperclassmen sections. The issue wasn't so much about the upperclassmen not wanting the underclassmen using their toilets but of the problems that could potentially arise later. Underclassmen girls being bullied was one of them. That and also the increased waiting times to use the cubicles as well as a drop in cleanliness of the toilets seeing that there were now additional girls using the same cramped washroom during lunch break. Tezuka could very well do without such problems being added to the list.

"Rumours are made-up stories," Tezuka told Fuji in his stern voice. "If you pay no heed to them, they will die out."

Fuji smiled; even the strongest typhoon couldn't shake Tezuka's beliefs. However, the brunette's stubbornness was not to be underestimated either.

"If I start a rumour that the ghost of Saeki is by my side 24-7, would you dismiss it as well?" Eyes opened to reveal sharp blue orbs that stared at the stoic boy questioningly. He wondered what sort of answer would come out from Tezuka's mouth.

"No. I would immediately send you to the school counsellor."

**~TeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu~**

Fuji had laughed so hard when he heard the other's reply. Tezuka didn't look like he was kidding when he said he would send Fuji to the school counsellor if the latter were to spread such a rumour. Fuji could tell that Tezuka was surprised when Fuji suddenly burst into hysterics after hearing his reply although the former maintained his usual stoic face.

「If only you believed in me a little…」

The warm summer breeze of mid-August scattered dried twigs and leaves on the ground with its gentle currents, covering the path leading up to the shrine on top of the small hill behind Seishun Gakuen almost completely with them. Summer was especially hot this year; Fuji could feel the intense heat waves on his skin despite the thinness of his summer school uniform as his shirt clung to his back, wet from perspiration.

"_You've been in good mood ever since lunch break. Does it have anything to do with that little chat with your ex_?"

"Part of it, I guess. Aren't you the one who wants to see me happy and guilt-less?"

"_Yeah, but the sudden change in mood was really abrupt. It's pretty unnerving_."

"You said you wanted the old me back. Was the 'old Fuji's' behaviour predictable?"

Saeki smiled and shook his head a little, a sign that he had acknowledged his friend's point. Fuji was never predictable and that was what scared him the most sometimes when it comes to the tensai.

Talking as they climbed up what seemed like an endless flight of stairs, both teens could not help but get the feeling that the place seemed well taken care of. The path leading up to the shrine had been swept clear of dead leaves and twigs. The shrine itself was still out of view and the only thing they could see beyond the stairs was a visage of the skies; it was as if the steps led up to heaven. The tensai could not remember when was the last time he went to the shrine nestled at the end of this staircase, or if he had ever been there before to begin with.

Despite the fact that no matter how many steps they climbed, the stairs never seemed to end, Fuji was not out of breath; tennis practice had helped to train up his physical endurance. The idea of making the first and second year rookies climb the stone steps a few times as part of their exercise routine was becoming increasingly appealing the more he thought about it. Sadistic tendencies aside, Fuji could not help but blame the reason for many of his merciless thoughts towards the juniors on having spent too much time observing Tezuka pushing everyone to their limits in the past.

To his left and right were trees and bushes rustling from the warm summer breeze. Midway through their trek up to the shrine, the two paused and turned around to see how far they had climbed. The vivid red torii* they had crossed at the very first stone step looked miniscule from where they stood. A distinct aura surrounding the shrine grounds could be felt but it was neither spooky nor eerie but rather, comforting, making Fuji feel at ease. Perhaps it was due to the fact that it was a sacred shrine, hence it felt comforting. Either way, it did not feel like there was anything evil lingering about the place.

The night before, Yumiko had come into her little brother's room. She had asked about the amulet she passed to him and although Fuji wasn't sure if it had helped, at least his sister had felt better knowing he had it with him. The older sibling had told Fuji after that to pay a visit to the shrine that she had gotten the amulet from. That was what brought him and Saeki to the shrine.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Saeki turned to his best friend and asked, "_What do we do next?"_

"Saa..." the shorter boy shrugged. He wasn't sure either of the purpose for coming to the shrine. It was neither renowned nor obscured. The shrine covered the whole of the hill top and from the entrance, Fuji could see numerous halls sprawled across the compound. Resting by the right side of the entrance was a chouzuya*. It would be disrespectful to enter without purifying oneself, hence Fuji walked over to the side of the stone basin and picked up the wooden ladle. The water looked so cool and refreshing and the tensai had to resist the urge to shed to his clothes and soak himself in the basin.

As Fuji gently scooped the water from the chouzubachi*, sending ripples across the surface of the water in the process, he swore for a moment that he had seen the reflection of the spirit beside him in the water. Rubbing his eyes in disbelief, the brunette looked again carefully but the ripples had already settled by then and the water surface merely reflected the scenery behind him. He could only conclude that what he saw back then was a trick of the mind. He began the rite by purifying his hands with the water, before completing the purification by rinsing his mouth.

The youth then proceeded to offer his prayers at the main shrine building but after that, his mind turned up a blank whenever he tried to think of what to do next. His sister had only told him to go there but not specifically what to do or who to look for if there was one. Even if she had told him to see a person, he hadn't the faintest idea as to what he should ask. In the end, the two of them winded up sitting on the stone steps, contemplating if they ought to go home just like that. After all the trouble they took to locate and climb up to the shrine, leaving barely after they had reached made the trip feel like a waste.

"A troubled young man, I see."

A deep voice broke through his thoughts and Fuji turned around to face a man, likely in his mid-thirties based on the youth's estimation. There was no doubt that this man was the priest of the shrine; a kannushi*, judging from the clothes that he wore. Truth be told, the man looked younger than what the teenager had assumed a kannushi would look like. He had always imagined that they were wrinkled old men with grey hair and a long beard covering their chin.

As if he had read Fuji's mind, Saeki commented, "_I know, I'm surprised too. I always thought kannushis were old men like oji_."

A smile appeared on the kannushi's face. He couldn't possibly have heard Saeki, could he? Once again, Fuji was about to chalk it down as a coincidence. However, the kannushi had said that Fuji was a troubled young man only but a moment ago. Could it be that the older man has the answers to Fuji's troubles? Perhaps this was the reason why Yumiko had sent him here.

The alleged 'troubled young man' stood up and inserted his hand into his pocket, taking out a purple coloured amulet before handing it to the man in traditional clothes. The kannushi merely had to take one look at the small piece of charm before he knew what it was for.

"Hmm…yaku-yoke omamori*…" he said and glanced at Fuji.

"... It only works against evil forces; it won't harm good ones." The kannushi stared at the empty space to the left of the teenager once again, a thoughtful expression on his face.

It was too much to be a coincidence; the priest definitely could either sense or see Saeki beside him. At the realisation of this fact, Fuji's hopes rose; perhaps this kannushi would be able to help Saeki depart peacefully to the other world.

Without another word, the kannushi turned and began to walk away, expecting the youth to follow after him. The older man didn't seem to have any specific destination in mind as he walked, his route taking them all over the compound. Both teens trailed silently behind, clueless of the kannushi's intentions but hesitant to break the silence and ask. It seemed like the kannushi was taking his evening stroll and enjoying it despite the fact that it was summertime and he was wearing thick garments.

Finally after a long period of silence, the kannushi asked, "Who gave you this amulet?"

"My sister. She said she had it with her for a while but that I needed it more now so she decided to give it to me instead."

They continued to walk in silence after that until upon reaching an altar, the kannushi stopped and placed the amulet on the dais before retrieving a onusa* from within his sleeve and began to chant a prayer. After about two minutes, the man stopped, picked up the amulet and returned it back to Fuji. Leaning forward, the kannushi whispered briefly into Fuji's ears and patted the youth's head with a smile before vanishing into one of the worshipping halls, leaving the brunette to stare off in the direction where the man had previously been, confused.

**~TeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu~**

「_There are people who care and will protect you, regardless of what form they take and how distant they are_. _Have faith in them, but first, have faith in yourself_」

**~TeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu~**

The sun had set by the time Fuji arrived home. He was just in time for dinner though and was saved from being nagged at by his sister. Even if he had been late, he was sure his sister would spare him the lecture if he told her the reason.

Little words were exchanged between Saeki and Fuji on their way back to the latter's home. The words of the kannushi echoed in the tensai's mind; they were simple enough yet seemed to hold a special meaning. The pious man spoke like he knew about the recent paranormal occurrences around him, especially Saeki.

Now that Fuji was no longer playing tennis simply for himself, the sport felt more like a responsibility than an activity he enjoyed doing. Seigaku's resident tensai diligently attended every training without fail and performed to the best of his abilities for his childhood friend's sake. The brown-haired boy wanted Saeki to feel like he was still a part of the sport even though he was no longer able to play, knowing how much it hurt the silver haired youth to watch as the Seigaku regulars trained and not be able to do the same with his Rokkaku teammates. However, despite the change in motivation, the attention Fuji paid to tennis never changed; so absorbed was he with each match that he simply forgot about his surroundings. Saeki would sit alone on at the side benches or just stand alongside the spectators behind the fences and watch the brunette play, ignoring everything else around him. Nobody sensed his presence and that suited him just fine. When it came to tennis, almost nothing could distract them.

The love for tennis ran too strongly in their blood.

During the five minutes break, Fuji went to freshen up at the outdoor sink. That was when he overheard the first year girls, Tomoka and Sakuno probed Tezuka about the rumoured girls washroom. They clearly took the matter seriously judging from the worry he heard in their voices.

"It's true! A lot of girls have seen it!"

Tezuka did not buy the girls' words. "Have you actually seen it yourself?" He asked.

"No, but-"

"Then how can you say that the story is true?" Tezuka cut in before the girls could finish. "We have rules in this school. The girls toilet for the second and third years students respectively are solely for use by the students of those grades. The girls toilet for the first year students is working fine so I ask that you make use of it." The tennis club captain cum student council president ordered.

Just like any other school, Seigaku had its own 'seven mysteries'. Back in his first year when he was still a naive young lad, the stoic boy along with Fuji and the other third year regulars had found out that neither of the stories were real. While they had yet to figure out what was the seventh mystery to date, they were pretty sure it was not 'Hanako-san'.

"But it's too scary. The lights flickered and went out without warning."

"The electric circuit must be faulty. I'll make a report on that so that the janitor can take a look at it immediately."

"But senp-"

"Tezuka!" Fuji called. "Five minute break is over. Does buchou wish to have the honour of being late?"

Tezuka ignored the jibe and quickly dismissed the girls before returning back to practice. Unable to convince the captain that the rumour was true, the two girls went away disappointed. The bespectacled teen had had enough of the girls in Seishun Gakuen troubling him over a single rumour. In addition to that, Fuji also had been pestering him over the same matter.

"You really believe it's a hoax?" Fuji asked, persistent.

"Yes."

"Then do you mind if I go and verify the rumour's credibility?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Boys are not allowed in the girls' washroom."

Fuji chuckled. "Not now, after school."

"No."

"Why not?" the smiling tensai folded his arms and pouted a little.

"_Fuji, do we need to play such mind games with Tezuka_?" the white haired spirit asked, a little impatient. He had been there with Fuji all this while and listening to the two twist and turn their words in an attempt to win the argument was tiring.

"Students are not allowed on the school campus after school hours."

"But I have a reason to, I'm investigating."

"There is no need to do anything of that sort."

"Why?"

"It's not your job. You're not part of the student council." The buchou stressed. He could not possibly allow a non-committee member to perform the committee's job.

"I'm not doing it for the student council's sake so there shouldn't be a problem," Fuji shot back defiantly.

"I'll give you a demerit if you do it."

"Tezuka, that is the discipline committee's* job."

"..."

They fell into a short silence. Tezuka could never win against Fuji's stubbornness, nobody could. They simply stared at one another as a frowning Saeki watched them from behind, uncomfortable with the tension between the two boys. If only Tezuka could hear him...He would try his best to convince the stoic caption to just let Fuji do as he pleased, hence preventing a whole lot of problems.

"If you are so adamant on having me stay away from the girls toilet, very well but on one condition," the tensai smirked. "Kiss me."

Saeki's jaw dropped. "_Really, Fuji_?"

Tezuka glared fiercely at the tensai but the other remained firm; it took more than that to shake Fuji up.

"There's always a price for everything. You would hate it if I were to go there alone at night and get hurt, ne?" the brunette smiled, challenging blue eyes meeting the glares of hazel ones.

Tezuka disliked wielding his authority for personal use. He hated underhanded means as well. Using either method on Fuji would only backfire on him, the bespectacled youth knew as much. Nonetheless, he needed to prevent the boy from breaking the school rules. The tensai would gain a bad reputation and that one action would simply produce more unnecessary issues to deal with later.

"I'm waiting."

「Is he serious about this?」At a loss as to how he should rebut Fuji, the hazel-haired youth finally decided to play along with what seemed like a joke in bad taste made by the other youth. Tezuka took a couple of steps towards the blue-eyed tensai and tipped the rounder chin of his former lover upwards with his finger, slowly bending down to meet the waiting lips. The action felt so natural; back then, Fuji didn't even need to ask, he did do it without any hesitation. It was a different story now. If he let his guard down, he would be sucked into the bottom of the abyss. Just a little taste would make him go crazy. That was how sinfully delicious Fuji is.

Just as their lips were about to meet, Fuji killed the mood by pulling back quickly, snorting with laughter. "Yudan sezu ni ikou, Te-zu-ka!" The boy simply brushed it off as a joke. Saeki was rendered speechless. He had been standing beside the tensai like a deer frozen in the headlights for the past few seconds as the mini soap opera unfolded in front of him. The part he didn't understand the most was why Fuji had refused the kiss which he had requested for in the first place.

"Sorry, it seems like spending too much time with the Shitenhouji team has gotten me into the habit of cracking jokes," he laughed. The death glare Tezuka shot at him didn't bother the boy at all. "Oh, come on. I know you are able to take a joke or two. Don't grow old too quickly, Tezuka." If Tezuka could participate in pillow fights, he could take a joke about a kiss or two as well. Asking for a kiss was not part of Fuji's plan at all. He had unconsciously blurted it out and surprisingly, Tezuka had not objected at all and actually had tried to kiss him. It had been so tempting to just claim that kiss, but at the last minute, he stopped himself.

That wasn't the sort of kiss he wanted.

They made their way back to the court as if nothing happened. Fuji walked a few feet ahead of the tennis captain, smiling with his eyes closed as usual while the other followed, grim as always. Saeki wondered if ghosts could also experience headaches; it felt like he was suffering from the most severe one he ever had before right then. Handling people had never been a problem for him before...not until Fuji became the main subject.

**~iTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu~**

Seishun Gakuen's main building had been divided into different sections, with each allocated to a specific student grade. The first year classrooms were located in one section of the building and the second and third years' each in their own respective sections. Students from different grades typically do not cross paths except for when they are in the cafeteria, library or certain laboratories which they have to share. Washrooms were not one of them. Each section had one washroom for the male students and one for the female students.

Ever since the rumours about the ghost started, the girls in the first year had stopped going to the washroom in their section. Instead, they went to the second and third years' sections to use their washroom. The senior girls did not have the heart to refuse sharing the facilities with the first year girls even though it was crowded enough without them.

"_Are you sure you want to go with this_?" Saeki asked for the umpteeth time that night.

"Are you scared?"

"_No, I'm just worried about you,_"

Fuji snuck out after dinner with just a torchlight and extra baggage in the form of a nagging spirit. He had been warned not to stick his nose into unnecessary things but being forbidden all the more made him want to interfere. Besides, there had not been anything exciting of late and now that Tezuka and the others were too 'old' to go hunt for something like the seven mysteries of Seishun Gakuen, it was unlikely that he would ever get another chance after this incident. If someone caught him red-handed, he would blame his actions on his 'unstable emotions'. That excuse seemed to work lately, at least with Tezuka.

"_Rules aside, what if Hanako-san's really in there_?" Despite the fact that he had become a ghost himself after dying, Saeki was not a strong believer of ghosts and ghouls. Moreover, the ghost mentioned in the rumour was from a famous urban legend. If he didn't know better, he would say that it was hundred-percent bogus. Nonetheless, here he was, a newly-formed spirit haunting his childhood friend; dead but not yet ready to depart from the world.

"I always believe that it's good to make new acquaintances. I know you love making friends too, Saeki," replied the calm, fearless young man. It was a stark contrast to the Fuji just a few days ago who had cooped himself up in his room and bawled his eyes out.

The boy was never one to be easily scared. There was a time where he had been startled by a 'running samurai' and whatnot but that was in the past. There was an issue that needed his attention and it was the reason why he was sneaking into the school compound at such a late hour now. He had come to investigate the truth of the rumour; now that he was here, how should he proceed? So what if Hanako-chan was really in the washroom? Would she kill him? Would she leave if Fuji told her to leave? A part of him insisted on continuing simply because Tezuka had told him not to do it. The warning had only served as motivation for Fuji, just for the sake of going against Tezuka's words. On top of that, there was a little voice in his head that did not belong to Saeki that kept encouraging Fuji to go ahead.

「Have faith in yourself…」

"Here we are." There was no turning back after this.

"_What can I say to make you turn around and go home?"_

"Nothing."

"_I guessed as much."_

"You know me too well."

Nothing Saeki said would make his childhood friend change his mind. Fuji had already pushed the washroom door open and stepped inside. It was empty, obviously because it was after school hours.

"_So, what now_?" the ghost wondered.

According to the urban legend, Hanako-chan's supposed to be in the third* stall of the girls' toilet. The blue-eyed youth stood in front of said stall and paused before knocking. He held his breath as he knocked on the door three times.

"Hanako-chan, are you there?"

There was no reply. They waited for a minute but heard nothing. The brunette tried again but there was still no response. "I guess it is just a rumour," Fuji commented as he turned to face his ghostly friend.

"_You should've listened to me and stayed home_."

"If I have listened, we wouldn't have known that it was just a hoax."

"_At least it wouldn't have put you at risk of getting demerit points. Tezuka said he would do that if you went, didn't he?_"

"Saa…I wonder if he really would."

"_You enjoy giving him a hard time, don't you_?" The silver haired boy asked even though the answer was rather obvious. Sighing, he indicated with a shrug towards the washroom entrance and said, "_alright then, shall we head back now_?"

Fuji nodded, a little disappointed. "Sorry for dragging you out pointlessly."

Alas, they had spoken too soon. Since Obon, Fuji would feel nauseous whenever a spirit was present nearby (excluding Saeki) and chills would suddenly invade his body, as if he was stabbed with hundreds of sharp icicles. It was a bad sign, an omen he was well too aware of. Something was coming.

Saeki had noticed the changes himself. Even though he did not experience the same symptoms Fuji did, he had nonetheless felt the change in atmosphere. It was as if he had gained a sense for these things, something he didn't have when he was alive. Perhaps it was the equivalent of the human's sixth sense. Judging from the other youth's reactions, Fuji most likely had the sixth sense as well.

The mirror in the washroom held a disturbing reflection. Fuji's image was in there but there was also something there as well that previously was not.

"You called?"

A girl's image was present in the mirror yet in spite of the reflection, there was no one standing beside Fuji outside of the mirror. Her looks fitted the image of how the legend had portrayed Hanako-chan. A girl of around ten years old, she wore a red pinafore over a white blouse. Her bob-styled hair barely reached her shoulders and her eyes were pitch black, darker than the skies on a night of the new moon.

Fuji froze. He told himself that there was nothing to be afraid of. He tried to recall the story about the girl. She was harmless, wasn't she? That was what Fuji wanted to believe until he saw the reflection in the mirror where the girl reached for his hand. A shiver ran down Fuji's spine. Both he and Saeki stared at his side. The girl wasn't there, but inside the mirror, she was holding tightly onto Fuji's hand. To make things worse, he could actually feel the tight grasp of the girl's hand around his; cold, hard and simply evil.

"Did my image scare you?" she asked as her black eyes gazed into Fuji's from the reflection. "How about a little change then?"

The image was distorted for a moment. When it returned back to normal, there was a different image reflected by the glass mirror. Steel-grey irises partially covered by silvery white hair layered over black ones stared back at the blue orbs of Fuji's. As if that didn't make his sweat freeze, the image of a pocket knife buried in the reflection's stomach made the brunette flinch. It was gruesome, a sight he never wished to see, the manifestation of his nightmare. When the reflection struggled and uttered his name in a weary, dying voice, something within the tensai snapped and he just started to scream.

~**TeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu**~

Anguish, despair and guilt flooded over him. Almost consumed by insanity, it felt like as if all hope was lost, until another set of hands reached for him as he cowered in a corner of the washroom. Those hands comforted him and calmed him down even as the firm words echoing in his head broke through the fear that had held him paralysed.

"_The amulet, Fuji. The amulet_!"

The amulet? Fuji thought. He had an amulet in his pocket. The one he had gotten from his sister, the one which was supposed to protect him from evil forces that were nothing like his dead childhood friend. Saeki would never play such a joke on him!

"This isn't funny!" With newfound courage, Fuji stood up and faced the mirror. The haunting reflection of Saeki covered in blood remained, gaping at him. How the evil spirit replicating his best friend's death had known to do in order to terrorise him and feed off his emotions, he had no idea.

All Fuji knew then was that he needed something he could use to fight back. Something hard that would break the mirror. His eyes fell on the empty garbage can by the corner of the washroom and he lunged for it. Heaving it up with all his might, he swung it backwards and then threw it forward directly at the mirror. The garbage can crashed against the mirror and landed with a loud thud on the floor as the mirror shattered and shards flew everywhere. The reflection disappeared and the feeling of a spirit present in the washroom left.

"That was not funny at all."

"_Fuji, you're bleeding_."

It was that hand again, the one that saved him, which now passed through his cheek where there was a light cut from a flying glass shard. That hand that had gathered so much energy for the sake of shaking him out of his fear a moment ago felt like a brush of wind now. It would take a while and great focus for those pair of hands to be able to touch solid things again.

Those very hands were what had rescued Fuji from himself at the very moment when he needed it the most...

**~end of part 1~**

* * *

**Endnotes**

**Nakimushi**: Crybaby

**Toire no Hanako-san/chan**: It's an urban legend started back in 1950's about a girl who haunts the girl's toilet in schools. According to the legend, if you go to the girls toilet on the fourth floor of the school and chant her name, she will appear. Different prefectures is Japan have different version of this legend. She could either be malevolent, benign or mischievous depending on the versions.

**Torii**: The red gate at the entrance of Shinto shrine. Some shrines have more than 1 torii.

**Chouzuya**: A small pavilion at the shrine that has a stone basin to wash the hands. A ritual that is a must before entering the shrine for prayers.

**Chouzubachi**: The stone basin inside the chouzuya.

**Kannushi**: The person who is responsible for taking care of the Shinto shrine as well as leading the prayers.

**Omamori**: A protection amulet. In Fuji's case he has the 'yaku-yoke' omamori that is specially designed for protection against evil spirits.

**Discipline committee**: Just to clear things up, the Student Council and Discipline Committee are 2 different bodies. So when Tezuka said he would give Fuji a demerit for breaking school rules, it actually doesn't belong under his jurisdiction.

**A/N**: Hopefully that will clear a lot of confusion…Oh, and Wikipedia is a good source of information, haha…I do write this story based on the facts that I know, but just so that I won't give the readers wrong info, a little research before writing is a good practice! Thank you so much for reading this long chapter. Hope to see more reviews soon!


	7. 7th Ghost: Reflection of Smiles

Hello again! Usually I will start by replying the reviews but I think I have replied to them, if I didn't, please tell me.

For those who read but didn't leave me a review, you still have my thanks. You guys are always welcome to read ^_^

Disclaimer: PoT = not mine.

* * *

**Title**: Reflection of Smiles (seventh ghost)

**Author**: Wara Ningyo

**Rating**: T (for some kissy-kissy scenes)

**Warning**: Half-edited version*

*I would like to apologize again for making you wait another 10 months for an update. My lack of grammar understanding is a big problem which requires me to seek the help of a beta-editor. However my dear friend is very busy at the moment, so I don't want to bother her too much and make you wait for another year. Therefore, please make do with this partially edited version and if we manage to edit them fully, I will upload the new version later on.

As usual I would explain a thing or two about this fic before you start reading. Since there are a lot of Japanese terms, please refer to the endnote at the bottom of this page. If there is anything hard to understand, you can leave me a message. I'd be happy to answer them for you. Also, there might be different versions to the things that I write; the ones I use for my stories are usually the versions I prefer.

Happy reading! ^_^v

Fate~

**Recap from last chapter: **Fuji and Saeki encounters the rumoured Hanako-san in the girls toilet. Trouble is brewing, can Fuji deal with it?

* * *

**Seventh Ghost: Reflection of Smiles**

"_We should leave_," Saeki could no longer remain silent.

Fuji had broken the school rules, vandalised the school's property and now he had hurt himself in more ways than one. The shard had cut his right cheek and drew some blood. If they did not return back home to the Fuji residence, it might be too late to prevent it from scarring. That aside, the thing that worried Saeki the most was his friend's emotional health/condition.

When the mirror reflected what had happened to Saeki on the day he died, the silvery-white haired youth was nauseated by the view himself. It was as if a scene from the last moments of his life had flashed before him and to relive the trauma of his life's end was painful.

No one should have to witness such a violent scene, most certainly not his unstable friend who had suffered more than enough from having a close friend die. It was something he didn't want Fuji to witness, even if was just a reenactment, a malicious prank played by a nasty spirit.

At the very least, Fuji managed to keep himself together. He was on the verge of tears when he was reminded that his childhood friend's spirit was with him. They had made a promise; in order for Saeki to depart from this world without any regrets, Fuji has to get rid of his guilt and return back to being his old self. The blue-eyed youth did not want to keep his friend in a world he no longer belonged to anymore so he has to be strong and hide his weaknesses.

"Thank you…"

Saeki blinked. Fuji finally spoke after a long silence.

"Thank you, for being here even though it's against life's rules." With a relieved smile, Fuji looked up at his taller friend's face.

The sound of footsteps in the empty corridor alerted both boys to the presence of another person. Someone probably had heard the loud crash in the toilet and came to investigate. There was a big chance that the night guard was coming and the only way to escape was to get out of the toilet as quickly as possible and leave the school compound before he got caught.

Time was not on their side as the footsteps drew near. Before they could even move an inch from where they were standing, the creak of rusty hinges was heard as the door to the washroom door slowly opened. Fuji wondered what kind of punishment he would get once he was caught and reported to the principal. There was the possibility of a suspension but being a tennis prodigy and starting member of the tennis club that brought their school to victory in tournaments, he hoped the punishment would not be that severe.

"_I told you that this was a bad idea_," Saeki shook his head. Fuji was definitely in a pinch.

Right then, Fuji could not help but echo his friend's thoughts until the door fully opened to reveal the figure of a man they both knew oh too well. Fuji's eyes opened in disbelief and Saeki while surprised, was somehow more relieved by the fact that it wasn't the night guard.

Tezuka stepped into the wrecked washroom, eyes wide with shock. Glass shards were all over the place. Almost immediately, he felt an ache in his left temple and a sigh escaped his lips as he lightly massaged the place where the pain was. He hadn't expected this to happen when he left his house because of a bad hunch.

"Haven't I specifically warned you against breaking the school rules?" The tall youth said, disappointment evident in his voice. He moved closer towards the youth responsible for the washroom's condition, pushing aside glass shards on the floor with his foot. "What exactly happened?" he prompted the boy whom he had caught red handed.

Fuji refused to meet the older boy's eyes. "You wouldn't believe me even if I were to tell you Tezuka," he said, almost mumbling.

"Try me."

"The rumour was false…it wasn't Hanako-san."

"Of course it wasn't. There are no such thing as ghosts!"

"No, it wasn't Hanako-san, but it was something else!" Fuji tried to convince the other youth.

"Then what is it?!"

"I don't know!" The petite lad threw his arms up in the air in frustration. A lump formed in his throat as Saeki's death scene flashed across his mind and he swallowed hard. He probably would never forget that scene for as long as he lived.

"_Fuji_…"

The hazel-eyed youth adjusted his spectacles, pushing them upwards from where they had slid down to back onto the bridge of his nose. He needed to remain calm and handle the situation properly without making things worse. His former lover stood in front of him, a look of calm and indifference plastered across his features but Tezuka knew better; he had spent enough time with the other youth and knew him well enough to detect whether the expressions he was making were real or just a mask to hide his true feelings. At the moment, something was really off.

"For now, come with me," the Student Council President ordered.

Unwilling to start another pointless argument, Fuji nodded, carefully making his way to the door and trying his best to avoid stepping on the broken glass. Saeki followed silently along by his friend's side; the last thing he wanted to do was to arouse the stern tennis captain's suspicions further by conversing with Fuji.

Tezuka led the way by walking a few steps ahead of the other youth but made no attempt to engage in any form of conversation. An awkward silence descended upon the three of them, broken only by the sounds of their footfalls. Fuji continued to follow obediently as the other youth made a few more turns around corners before going down a flight of stairs. The tennis club captain took out a set of keys from his pocket just as they stopped in front of the infirmary.

"The infirmary doctor is on leave so the student council is responsible for the key to the infirmary in the meantime." The bespectacled youth explained without prompting.

Sliding the infirmary door open, he moved to the side so that the brunette could pass through before entering himself. The taller boy closed the door after him, unaware that there was another entity besides the two of them present to whom the sliding door was not an obstacle. A slightly amused Saeki passed through the door effortlessly and floated over to Fuji's side, glancing around as he did so.

"This technically can be considered trespassing but we cannot leave your wound untreated...Don't make this a habit."

Tezuka made his way over to the cabinets and began searching for the medical kit containing the supplies he would need to treat the cut on the tensai's face. Unsure of what to do, Fuji seated himself at the edge of one of the beds, a little anxious about having to face his former lover after all that had happened thus far. It was evident to the silver-haired spirit that the two boys needed some time alone to sort things. Deciding that it was best if he left the room for now, the spirit whispered softly into Fuji's ears even though Tezuka would not have heard him regardless of how loud he spoke.

"_I'll wait outside_."

Darkness shrouded the infirmary room as Fuji watched Tezuka in silence while the latter continued his search. They dared not switch on the lights for fear of giving away their presence within the school compound; although Tezuka was the Student Council President, it did not excuse him from the fact that he had also broken several rules and would most likely be punished as well if he was caught. All they could do for now was to quickly leave the place as soon as possible; solving the problems would have to wait till the next day.

The only source of illumination came from the moonlight that streamed in from the window and enabled Tezuka to vaguely make out the items within the medical kit. A minute or two passed before the hazel-brown haired youth finally closed the cabinet door and made his way over to where Fuji was seated.

The steel bed made a slight creaking sound as he sat down and placed a packet of cotton swabs, a bottle of disinfectant and a tube of antiseptic cream on the bed between him and the other boy. His grandfather had taught him first aid during their many frequent hiking trips so treating a small wound like this would not be a problem. First aid knowledge aside, he had spent enough years in the tennis club dealing with accidents and the occasional injury that even if he had not been trained, he would still know the basics which was enough to take care of the small cut on Fuji's face.

"This will sting a little," Tezuka murmured as he poured a little disinfectant onto a cotton swab before gentling dabbing it on the cut.

The sting of the disinfectant made Fuji flinch. He had not realized how much it would hurt until alcohol met with open wound. With all that had happened so far, the sapphire-eyed teen was still trying to digest what was happening at the moment.

"Tezuka, why are you here?" the puzzled youth finally asked.

There was no reply at first as Tezuka continued on with his treatment, seemingly ignoring the question. Unsatisfied with the lack of response, Fuji stared at him, refusing to back down.

Tezuka disposed of the used cotton swab and opened the tube of antiseptic before he finally stopped, a sigh escaping from his lips. "I had a bad feeling, so I came back to check." The tennis captain proceeded to apply some antiseptic cream onto the cut.

"What happened to the mirror?"

The sharp glare that the taller youth gave Fuji did not scare him one bit since he was used to receiving them but the question did make him feel a little guilty; it was his fault after all that the mirror in the washroom had shattered into pieces. There were consequences to every action and it seemed that telling Tezuka the truth of the matter was the only possible way out from whatever punishment awaited him if he was found out.

There was just one problem; Tezuka did not believe in ghosts.

"I'm sorry, but I really can't say." Trying to convince Tezuka of the existence of ghosts at the moment seemed to be pushing his luck too far.

"I will take responsibility for my actions."

Another moment of awkward silence descended upon them as the tensai waited for Tezuka's response. The captain heaved yet another sigh as he gathered up the medical supplies and returned them to the medical kit in the cabinet. Once done with the action, he contemplated whether or not to return to the other boy's side again given the strangeness of the situation in general. In the end, feelings won out and Tezuka sat down once again beside Fuji but did not try and get an answer anymore from the other youth; no manner of threatening would make Fuji divulge his secrets if he did not want to.

"Fuji."

Tezuka called softly. It came almost as a shock to the other tennis player when his captain suddenly cupped his injured cheek. The gentle caress of a calloused thumb against the band aid over his cut sent shivers down his spine. His heart was not prepared for this moment and it seemed that the bespectacled teen himself was aware of the consequences that might follow from his simple touch.

"This has to stop," the firm voice echoed in his ears. "You've been through a hard time, and I didn't make things easier for you either…" as the words flowed out carefully from his mouth, Tezuka trailed his fingers along the smooth cheek towards the ear. He delicately slid Fuji's brown tresses behind his ear and repeated his gestures over and over again. "…you're letting your guard down."

"I don't exactly put on a guard," Fuji tried to joke, but failed.

"…"

"But someone did tell me I wasn't myself anymore…"

"Aah…"

"You're right, I did let my guard down."

Tezuka nodded, and worked up a smile although his facial expression changed back to that of his stoic look in a blink of an eye. "I'll overlook tonight's incident." He said in a matter of factly way. "In exchange, I want your word that nothing of this sort will happen again."

"If it wasn't for my actions, you wouldn't be here, touching me like this," Fuji said as he thought about the unexpected turn of events and could not help a little smile.

The soft caresses did not stop despite the realization of the situation they were in. The stoic teen was not disturbed by the statement and certainly did not touch him any less because of it. Instead, the tender strokes continued on as if it were a natural act between them.

"This will be the last. I let my guard down and made you suffer because of that. Let's end it properly tonight." Tezuka said without smiling. There was a definite seriousness in the deep tone he spoke in.

"There is really no hope huh…"

Tezuka shook his head.

"Did you really hate it?"

The hazel-haired youth closed his eyes and did not reply. "Tomorrow…let's have a fresh start…" he uttered regretfully. "…as teammates, best of friends and rivals."

Fuji reluctantly bobbed his head in agreement only after a long moment passed. The painful reality was not something Fuji looked forward to facing but he understood and had finally came to terms with the fact that their relationship would never work out.

They were both quiet, unwilling to utter words that would simply hurt them more as Tezuka touched his forehead against Fuji's while his right hand continually caressed the latter's ear lightly like a fluttering butterfly does to. Their faces drew near inch by inch and soon two pairs of lips met in a gentle touch. The shock of contact instinctively caused both to pull back in a split second, only for their eyes to lock on one another. Eventually, the pair of blue orbs surrendered and fluttered close, allowing Tezuka's lips to sweep away the tensai's senses in a slow rhythm, gently and steadily dissolving the ache of being left alone in despair.

The kiss matched the crescendo of their emotions as their lips moulded perfectly together. Small noises of pleasure escaped involuntarily from their mouths. A torturous second of parting for air was one second too long as their moist, reddened lips crashed against each other's again in a desperate need to satiate the hunger they had for each other.

All semblance of control deserted Tezuka as he pinned Fuji down to the hard infirmary bed, interlocking his fingers with the other's and holding them secure at the boy's sides, trapping the lithe body beneath him completely.

What had started out as an innocent kiss had dissolved into an intense situation as Tezuka began sucking and biting Fuji's tender flesh. The brunette whimpered softly at the dance of his lover's tongue, darting in cheekily into his readily open mouth. Tezuka circled his tongue, tasting every bit of the other's fresh breath as well as the sweet fluid they exchanged via the kiss.

Tears formed in Fuji's eyes and flowed continuously down the sides of his face. He was happy yet devastated, knowing that as soon it started, it would also end. Tezuka was well aware of it himself; no matter what action he takes, he would eventually end up hurting Fuji one way or another. Right now, all he could do was to kiss away the tears from those beautiful eyes and do his best to satiate their hunger for each other before time ran out.

**~TeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu~**

The summer night sky was brilliantly illuminated by the moon and the stars that made up the Vega and Altair constellations. A warm breeze shook the branches and twigs of the sakura trees that had shed their flowers last spring. The season of hydrangeas and sunflowers was here, hot and sunny throughout the day till late in the evening.

The occasional singing of the cicadas could be heard all around and were the loudest near trees, piercing through the silence of the night. The rhythmic beats were considerably calming in comparison to the tension between two young lovers as their relationship came to an end.

"Can we hold hands until we go separate ways?" Fuji asked as they emerged from the school building.

The kiss in the infirmary room seemed to last forever as both teens held on to each other. Nothing else mattered to them as they finally slowed down to sweet, lingering brushes. Firm hands that once held on to smaller, gentler ones meticulously swept the honey-coloured tresses away from the owner's face. Caught in each other's embrace, they could not help but wish that time would just freeze for all eternity so that they could preserve that moment of bliss.

Tezuka was almost as reluctant as Fuji when he had to release the petite body in his arms. They sat side by side on the bed, eyes still focused on each other until the taller youth finally got up and with one final peck on the lips, shattered the illusion of happiness and brutally brought them both back to reality.

As he made his way out of the infirmary together with Tezuka, his eyes met those of his childhood friend's and Fuji was reminded of how Saeki had been waiting outside all this while. Averting his eyes out of embarrassment despite knowing that Saeki would understand what he was going through and not tease him about it, he followed Tezuka down the hallway in silence, leaving the spirit to follow at a distance, granting both boys some privacy.

The taller of the two reached down to grasp his companion's hand once they got off the compound. There was little time left before they would have to go their separate ways and Tezuka found himself slowing down his pace, each extra second granting him the ability to grasp Fuji's hand in his a moment longer.

When they finally reached the junction where they were supposed to part ways, Fuji found himself unable to let go of Tezuka's hand. Tears welled up in his eyes as he tried to find the words to say goodbye but failed. Knowing how hard it was for Fuji to hold back the tears, Tezuka pulled the other close to him and pressed the boy's head to his chest, silently stroking his back as the tensai wept into his shirt.

In the end, Tezuka walked Fuji home, having convinced himself that allowing the brunette to walk home alone in the middle of the night when he was feeling obviously distraught was hardly a good idea. Fuji knew Saeki was around and could warn him of any danger if need be but decided to take advantage of Tezuka's sense of responsibility so they could be together a little longer.

When they finally reached the front gate of Fuji's house, Saeki disappeared into the house, leaving the couple outside in privacy.

"We're here," Fuji sniffled. His eyes were damp and his nose was cherry-red from one too many rubs. Just when he thought he had finally gotten his emotions under control, they threatened to overwhelm him again.

"Pull yourself together." Tezuka knows it's cruel to ask Fuji to smile and pretend to be happy after all he had went through but seeing the boy so completely wrecked tore apart his heart and made their inevitable parting all the more painful.

"I'm such a crybaby these days, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Tezuka raised a finger to Fuji's lips. "I'm the one you should blame."

"Should I hate you then?"

"If you wish."

"But I love you."

"You said that already, and even without you saying it I would still know."

"I don't want to end this."

Fuji buried his face into his hands as he thought desperately of how he could possibly salvage their relationship. He knows he's hopelessly in love with Tezuka and that the stoic captain feels the same towards him even if the taller youth did not express them out loud. Tezuka never did explain why they had to break up; all he ever mentioned was that their relationship was a mistake. He has no doubt that it is in the eyes of society but at this moment, he cannot bring himself to care. What they had was something special and precious beyond words; was it not something worth fighting tooth and nail for?

Cupping Fuji's cheeks in his hands, Tezuka tilted the boy's face up so that their eyes met again. He cannot deny that the face before him is the only one that can send his heart into an erratic flurry. It is also the face that never fails to draw out all manner of emotions from him. No one else could ever do that to him.

"A coward like me don't deserve you. I…was happy while it lasted but we can't go on anymore. It's complicated."

"We can make it less complicated."

"I'm sorry, Fuji. I'm really sorry."

Fuji wanted to say more but all he could do was close his eyes as Tezuka planted a kiss on his forehead. He felt a slight brush on his nose moving down to his lips. It was a chaste kiss, and it meant goodbye.

Summoning up all his resolve, Tezuka released the hands he held and as their fingers parted with one final brush, he took a step back and another, then turned around, leaving the brunette watching his back as he walked away. The stoic captain paused for a moment in his steps, contemplating whether to turn around and look at the other boy one last time but hardened his heart.

Yudan sezu ni ikou.

Raising one hand above his head as a last act of farewell even as he continued to walk away, the stoic youth pursed his lips as he focused on one sole thought; when tomorrow comes, their relationship will be rewritten, just like how he wanted it to be.

But does he, truly?

**~TeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu~**

_~What are your fears~_

_~Tell me your weaknesses~_

_~I'll be in your nightmares~_

**~TeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu~**

Glass shards were scattered all over the floor. This was the fourth jar broken in the biology lab already. The scent of formalin filled the room, making everyone who entered sick and nauseous from the smell. The specimen that was once contained in the jar was strewn halfway across the floor. The biology teacher ruled out the incident as yet another malicious prank but Fuji's gut feeling told him otherwise.

Each time such an incident occurred in class, he felt a hair-raising chill course through his body. When he told Saeki about it, the deceased teen suggested that it was a side-effect of the formalin filling the air. At first, Fuji thought that was the case too, until it happened a second time, a third and now a fourth time.

Fuji knew something was not right.

Every day, something around him would break. The mirror that he always carried in his bag broke the day before. He only realized it when his finger was pierced by a broken shard as he reached into his bag for it.

Determined that the occurrences were highly unusual, Fuji decided to look into it. Skipping tennis practice was impossible, so right after they were done, Fuji rushed home. He had borrowed a few books from the school library a while back and had been constantly renewing his subscription whenever the due dates came up since then.

As soon as he reached home, Fuji dropped his backpack on his bed and pulled out the first book from the nearby shelf. He looked for anything that could explain the broken glasses, whispers and dreams. Part of him wanted to believe that it was really just a coincidence that the incidents had happened one after another, but another part of him insisted that there was definitely something supernatural at work.

"Mou, there's nothing in these books!" Fuji threw himself back on the bed after closing yet another big tome.

Since he came home, Fuji had read _Paranormal Studies_, _Japanese Gods and Deities_, J_apanese Classical Horrors_ and even _Modern Haunting_ but was no closer to his goal of finding out what was causing the incidents. The brunette even skipped dessert after dinner so that he quickly get back to his research. He checked the _Japanese Classical Horrors_ text twice to learn about the previous case with Hanako-san in the toilet. None of his searches bore any fruit.

"_I'm not trying to be a wet blanket or anything but maybe we were on the wrong track afterall_?" Saeki, who had been reading the books along with the tensai tried to persuade his friend. "_Besides, wasn't the incident in the girl's toilet already resolved? You broke the mirror, so I don't think whatever was in there could come out_."

"Even if it's not the same thing, I'm positive that something is not right. You felt it too, didn't you? Even though you don't experience it physically like I do, you did sense it as well, am I not right?"

"_Yeah, but how can we be sure_?"

The petite boy heaved a long sigh. All the signs pointed to only one possibility. Over the course of just one week, he was plagued numerous times with bouts of vertigo, chills that shot down his spine and made the hair on his body stand as well as a feeling of restlessness. He was unable to fully concentrate in class and tennis practice. The last thing he wanted was for the people around him to start noticing that something was bothering him.

If all these abnormal body reactions wasn't enough to suggest that they were dealing with the paranormal, then he was truly at a loss.

**~TeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu~**

_I know what you're afraid of…_

_Succumb to your fears…_

_I will crawl out toward you and feed on your grief…_

**~TeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu~**

Cold sweat dampened the forehead of the sleeping teenager. He had been tossing and turning since midnight, occasionally mumbling words that are hard to make out. In the silent of the night, no one knows Fuji's condition. He hardly get a goodnight sleep, let alone one without a nightmare.

_[Let's end it properly…]_

_[There is no hope…]_

_[This has to stop.]_

Awoken from his usual dream, Fuji shot up on his bed, grasping tightly on his pained chest. He remembered those words. They were spoken during the times his beloved person let him go for the second time. It hurts him, and he wasn't able to let it slip his mind, sleeping or awake.

"_The same dream again_?" A gentle, familiar voice soothed him. The translucent spirit sat on the side of the bed next to him, trying to comfort his sorrowful friend.

Fuji nodded. No matter how many times he convinced himself that he had already let it go, it appeared again in his dreams.

"I'd better wash my face," pushing his covers away, the troubled teen set one foot on the floor.

"_No, you should go back to bed_…"

"I will, after I wash my face."

"_There's no need for that_."

"Saeki?"

"_Even if you wash your face I'll still haunt you every day_."

Saeki pushed his puzzled friend back on the bed. There was a wicked grin plastered on his face. Fuji had never seen the Rokkaku vice-captain smiled like that before. Every time the boy smiles, it was always a kind and friendly smile. There's nothing kind and friendly about the smile Saeki was giving him at the moment.

Pinning the smaller youth by his shoulders, Saeki's hair grew longer and turned darker. It fell to the sides of Fuji's face like curtains. His gray irises as well as the white of his eyes changed into pitch black, like the depth of nothingness. At the same time, his face was no longer his.

"_Feed me your grief_…"

The changed voice whispered hoarsely by the captured boy's ear. Shivers coursed through his body as cold breath caressed his skin. He had his eyes closed, unwilling to look at the creature who first assumed his childhood friend's figure but when a disgusting, uninviting tongue lapped on his cheek, Fuji's eyes shot open.

**~TeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu~**

"…_ji! Fuji_!"

Gasping out of breath, the dreaming boy snapped his eyes wide open. He was drenched in cold sweat all over his body. His heart thumped furiously inside his ribcage as if he had run in a sprint. Once he saw the concerned look of his friend's spirit, Fuji exhaled a relieved sigh. It was just another stupid dream.

"Saeki…"

"_Hmm_?"

"You're not going to change into some long haired yuurei, are you?" the worried boy raised an eyebrow. If this is another dream, he ought to wake up before it turned into a nightmare. No way is he letting himself being licked by some sexual harassment ghost.

Saeki gave Fuji the 'weird' look. "_I don't think I can grow hair in this condition_," he responded. "_I don't think it suits me anyway. And don't suddenly change the subject. What was it just now_?"

"I had a nightmare…in a nightmare," Fuji answered nonchalantly.

"The usual one?"

"And something new."

"What is it about?"

Fuji looked to his side, thinking. Without warning, he extended his arms and wrapped them around his childhood friend's neck.

He didn't go through the spirit's body like before. Saeki had been able to control his spiritual energy ever since their encounter with Hanako-san's imitator. The ghost thought he needed to prepare himself for when Fuji might require his help.

As they were in an innocent embrace, the blue-eyed boy buried his face in the other's shoulder. Saeki gently rub his distressed buddy's back, helping him to calm down. The former has been having nightmares for a few nights in a row ever since he sensed something was off. Often, the light-haired youth had to wake the brunette up.

"Was death scary?" the smaller teen finally asked.

Saeki shifted and they broke their hug. The boys sat crossed legged on the bed with their backs leaning against the wall. To think it again, the two of them had never talked about the day that Saeki met his fateful death. It was too painful in the beginning and Fuji was over-emotional. It has been a couple of months since then. Perhaps the two of them are ready to face the truth.

The light-haired teen started with a short sigh. "_To be honest, it didn't scare me as much as I regretted not being able to live past fifteen. Everybody die eventually, I just wish I could grow older than just a teenager. But I guess it's my time, and I already accepted it_."

"I'm sor—"

"_Don't finish that sentence_!" the spirit warned his still living friend. "_If you want to atone, I want you to live for my part as well. That's why I'm still here. I told you that many times already_."

"It could be forever you know. Even if I'm ceased of guilt, there will be regrets. And whenever I think of you, I would be sad. I might even cry. How do you know when you can leave me and move on?"

"_Well, if it has to be forever, then thank god I'm dead_," Saeki smiled, hoping that his little joke would cheer Fuji up. He raised his hand and gently patted his friend's head.

Looking at the laid-back and caring friend, the petite brunette responded with a relieved smile. Albeit wanting Saeki to move on to the other side, he was a little relieved that he still has the chance to meet his friend and spend more time together despite being separated by death.

Talking with his friend helped Fuji stabilize his emotions and helped him to calm down. He lay back in bed while Saeki sat quietly at the corner, watching over him like a guardian angel. If somehow the nightmares come again, the friendly ghost will be there for his buddy.

"Nee, Saeki," Fuji called out before he shut his eyes.

"_Yes_?"

"I'll be counting on you."

**~TeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu~**

Fuji was well prepared. He made sure that everything was in check. There can't be room for mistakes because based on what happened last time, what he was about to encounter was rather malicious. He wouldn't dare to think about the consequences he might face if things take turn for the worse. Nevertheless, there is only one way for him to know the result. He just have to try.

A week ago, he was in the girl's bathroom for the first year students. The broken glasses were cleaned up and a new mirror was replaced. Tezuka had covered up the story nicely for him. According to the report the bespectacled male wrote about the washroom incident, the screws that supported the big mirror were loose, thus unable to hold it in place and it smashed as it hit the solid surface. Fuji's name was never mentioned and what happened that night become another secret to both of them.

"_Hopefully after this we won't be coming back in this place_." As Fuji's partner in crime, Saeki loyally trailed behind the smaller boy into the dim-lit washroom.

"I could be wrong, but I have high confidence. Just remember, whatever happens, stick to the plan."

"_I know. I do believe in you. It's the damned thing I doubt about_," groused the ex-vice-captain. "_What the hell is that thing anyway? I'm a little ashamed to think that I'm a Japanese, born and raised in this country but have never heard something like that ever existed_."

"Don't ask me. I'm not the one with the connection to the underworld." Fuji glanced at his deceased friend.

Saeki shot him a menacing look and quickly dismissed the joke. "_Do you think she'll appear even with lights on?_"

"She already has."

Looking abruptly into the big washroom mirror, they both saw the reflection that they once saw before. Again, it assumed the look of Saeki, the one which disturbed Fuji so much before.

"_I don't remember looking that bad before_," although it was intended as a joke, the young spirit sounded serious.

"_Do you prefer me as Hanako instead_?" The image inside the mirror changed and Hanako-san appears, just like the first time they encountered the spirit before.

"Hanako-san is pretty interesting, but maybe something original is more befitting. Why don't you show yourself?" In his calm, Fuji decided to challenge his enemy.

"_Hmm…like when I went into your dreams_?"

The brunette shivered at the ring of the spirit's tone, but he was prepared for it. He was prepared for whatever mental games his opponent might throw at him. They watched as the image changed again into something that Fuji was familiar with. Long dark hair, pitch black eyes and a disturbing grin upon her face, it was the same as the one who pinned the tensai down in his dream.

_[Feed me your fear~]_

A voice invaded Fuji's range of hearing. It seems that his company was not affected by it. The ghost was trying to poison him with terror by telepathy.

_[I know your fears~]_

The little voice spoke again. Fuji kept staring at the mirror and its reflection. Saeki was doing the same. He wondered where Fuji found the courage to stand up against something unnatural. As a non-human he is, the silver-haired ghost had his worried about facing such ungodly being.

"In tennis, the same trick won't work twice," talking boldly, Fuji walked towards the hand basin counter and sat on it, leaning his side against the mirror so that the image is right beside him. "Saa, amuse me. Afterall, you do know my fears, don't you?"

"_A petty brat like you shouldn't get cocky_."

The mirror got distorted yet again. However, this time something was different. As the reflection inside the mirror touched the surface of the glass, it's finger went through it like a person emerging from another dimension.

At first, Fuji remained in his position. It was a second too late when he realized the hand that came out and touched the side of his cheek was of the ones similar to Tezuka. The ghoul had half its body out of the mirror, taking up the shape of Seigaku's Tennis Club Captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu.

"_Fuji_!" Detecting trouble, Saeki decided to interrupt. He froze midway when he remembered that Fuji had asked him to stay where he were.

The confidence that the tensai once have began to waver. Why did it has to be Tezuka? Why couldn't it be some scary monster instead? His azure eyes were fixed to the figure emerging from the mirror, but only from its waits up. It's face were close in range that Fuji could almost feel the breath.

"Tezuka…"

"Yes, it's me. I'm sorry for hurting you so much."

Tears began to well from the boy's eyes. "Why?"

"Because I want to see you in pain. I want you to cry more."

"Why didn't you make it stop? It hurts so much."

"If it hurt so much, hate me. Be in pain. Release your anger and break things."

"_Fuji, break the glass. Now_!" Saeki hollered from where he was. If it's not for the promise he made to Fuji, he would've strangled the damned 'Tezuka'.

"Yes, break the glass Fuji. Break the glass and release everything."

Being controlled emotionally by the apparition of Tezuka, Fuji gripped tightly the torchlight that he had with him. One hard bang would break the mirror. He knew he can do it, just like the time before where he smashed the glass with the garbage can. Although breaking things wouldn't change anything, at least he would feel better.

"Yes, use your anger and pain. Break the glass."

Raising the torchlight high in one hand, Fuji was determined to break the mirror. Tezuka went back inside and remained an image, watching mightily as Fuji was about to break the glass. Tears were rolling down Fuji's cheeks, wetting his face. His slender arm swings with full force so that the metal of the torchlight would break the fragile surface.

Then he stopped.

Fuji took a step back and joined Saeki. A sadistic smile appeared on his beautiful face. The tears no longer flowing as he wiped the moisture away.

"How do you like a fake 'fear'?" Fuji asked in a tone that he always use to intimidate his kouhai in the tennis club. "Tezuka and I were done for good. He's no longer my weakness. Unlike you, I grow."

"_They don't call him tensai for nothing, ya know_," Saeki added quite proudly.

Angered, the entity inside the mirror growled in fury. The image of Tezuka was replaced by the ghost's real face. It tried to reach for the human boy but something held it back. It was bound to the mirror, unable to escape.

"Now it's your turn to feed me your fear."

"_I don't have fears. Humans fear me_!"

"Right, and I'm a higuma. Sometimes I'm a tsubame and other times I'm a hakugei."

Saeki snorted. Of all things to make fun of, Fuji chose an angered spirit.

"_Fuji, stop. Didn't obaasan ever teach you never to mess with spiritual beings_? _I know she messed with you but let's just leave the poor thing alone_."

"I don't really mind she harassed me, but I don't like her disturbing the school. We have our seven mysteries already, we don't need the eighth. Besides, wrecking the school properties is unforgivable. Who do you think going to end up with problems later?"

"_Your ex-boyfriend_?"

"Yeah, but don't mind him. Students will face consequences too and I don't appreciate that," the brunette said as a matter of fact. He wanted a peaceful middle school life. Paranormal disturbances don't fit the bill. "And so, we don't need you here," all serious and undisturbed, Fuji faced the phantom again.

"_What can little pricks like you do? I know your fears, I'll haunt you wherever you are_!"

"Saa, we could just call a diviner to perform exorcism, but that would involve a lot of people. Ah, well, since it's just you, I think Saeki and I are enough."

"_You insolent human_!"

"And you're just a reflection, trapped in that mirror. I've checked, the lights throughout the school were out and tonight is a moonless night. Except for this place, nowhere nearby could reflect images."

The two friends had it all figured out. The girls complained about seeing Hanako-san in the washroom, even during daylight. Fuji first encountered the spirit in the dark washroom, but it was on a moonlit night. The broken glasses and jars happened during the day, all because they can reflect images.

"You have three seconds to find out about my other fears." One finger on the light switch, Fuji started counting. "Three…" and the washroom was filled with blood-curdling shriek. "…two…" frantically, the hideous creature clawed her way out of the mirror albeit no more than her upper body. She was bound to the realm inside of the mirror. "…one."

**~TeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu~**

_[What I fear the most is to lose to my own fears. Losing will result in pain and I will never feed you my pain ever again~]_

**~TeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFuTeFu~**

"Ohayou."

"_Ohayou. Did you sleep well last night_?"

Agile as a cat, Fuji stretched his arms upwards as he sat up on his bed. After so many sleepless night, he was able to get a decent sleep. He was a little tired, probably for using a big amount of energy battling something a human wasn't supposed to meddle with.

"_I take that as a 'yes'_," the teenage ghost smiled at the lack of remark from his friend. "_I'm glad our plan got rid of Sadako* for real. If you keep having those dreams we're going to need to find an exorcist for real_."

"If it's really a Sadako, all we need to do is make copies of DVDs and make the whole school watch. That way I could at least live until I'm thirty."

"_It's weird that we never heard anything about her. I don't even know such thing exist_."

Indeed the ghost they dealt with was something unheard of. Fuji knows a lot of ghost stories and he told them often to his juniors. Never has he heard anything about a female ghost in a mirror that feeds on grief or fear. He have heard about a western urban legend of 'Bloody Mary' before, but what he had experienced was a totally different story. There could be a possibility a girl had summoned the cursed creature inside the washroom but Fuji hadn't heard any rumours about someone died horribly as what was told in the case of Bloody Mary legend.. Moreover, he never summoned the said ghost in any place or time. If it really is her, then how come it appeared before Fuji?

Of course, it would be a fine joke if a character from a western ghost tale is actually bilingual. He wondered if they could change their language option like in a video game. Then he thought about some local ghosts like Otsuyu in the legend of Botan Doro or Lady Rokujyo from the Tales of Genji talking in foreign languages such as French or English. That would be a good humour instead of horror.

"Why are you laughing by yourself?" Saeki was perplexed by Fuji's little chortle.

"Nandemonai, nandemonai," Fuji waved his hand indicating it was nothing.

Leaving his room, the brunette and his ghostly company headed for the bathroom. He ran the tap water, washed his face and started brushing his teeth. They made sure that the door is shut as to not raise any suspicions from the members of the house aside from Yumiko.

"My best guess would be 'fear'," Fuji remarked after he spat the toothpaste from his mouth.

"_Fear_?"

"You know when you think too much about something, it might actually come true? It's the same about fear. For example, when you're stranded alone in a dark and scary place, you'd start to think about stuff like ghosts or monsters. Sometimes your mind deceives you by making you think that it's real."

"_So you think it started as a harmless paranoia among the girls and from there their imagination makes Hanako-san exist in reality_?"

The smaller teen sipped water from his cup and rinsed his mouth. He repeated two more times before answering the spirit friend's question with; "something like that."

"_It makes sense now why he 'copied' me that first time_."

"Because I was sad."

"_And the dreams about_…"

"I guess I didn't quite let it go yet. I am over it now, mostly."

"_Did_ _you cry for real last night_?"

Fuji shook his head. "Acting is not that hard. It was fun looking at that thing thinking that she had me when she's not."

"_You are one scary dude_."

"Hmmm…" Fuji hummed amusedly. "Saeki…" nonchalantly, Fuji placed his palm on one of Saeki's shoulder. "Am I really scary?"

Their eyes locked as the petite boy looked up upon the taller youth. Saeki was shocked as his friend's once blue-hues turned pitch black, similar to the ones of the inhuman being they rid off last night. Fuji smiled as the light-haired ghost released an embarrassing scream.

BANG! The bathroom door swung open. There was Yumiko standing in the middle of the opened door. She looked at her laughing brother who was facing an invisible figure.

"I heard Saeki-kun's voice just now. Was he screaming?" Questioned Yumiko bemusedly.

He younger brother was trying hard to contain his laughter and started apologizing profusely. He laughed so hard that tears started coming out.

"Gomen, neesan. I was just playing a prank on Saeki."

The older woman shook her head in discouragement. "Is that why you asked me for that black contact lens for?"

The younger sibling nodded. "Arigatou, neesan. It was fun."

"Be thankful that kaasan can't hear him screaming or she'd be worried. Play nice, okay."

Once again the male brunette was left alone with his ghost childhood mate as his sister left from the scene. Saeki had a disbelief look upon his face. He wasn't looking forward to be teased by said friend the morning after they faced some wicked creature.

"_You asked Yumiko-neesan to get that for you just to make fun of me_?" A little annoyed, the spirit boy crossed his arms to his chest.

Fuji took out the contact lens back into its case. He had put in on while Saeki wasn't looking the moment they stepped into the bathroom. Admittedly, he anticipated a good scare but the reaction given by the other guy was really satisfactory.

"Gomen, I never imagine I'd be fighting evil when I asked neesan for this. I'm glad I did, because the look on your face was hilarious. Arigatou, Saeki. You made my day."

"_At least your sadistic side is back. I'm glad I was able to help_."

Gently looking at his friend, Fuji smiled sweetly. "You know, I'm starting to feel that having you around is not a bad thing. I'm not saying forever. If you could stay for a little longer, I'd be happier. We can do a lot of stuff together like we used too. It's not quite the same with you being a ghost, though. The least we could do is spend more time together before you leave. When the time comes, I'll say goodbye to you properly."

"_That sounds like a plan_."

The middle-scholar spirit placed his palm on top of his buddy's head. He gently stroke the brown hair as a comforting gesture. Neither of them can be sure of what the next day or the day after would bring, but at least they still have their friendship that even separated by death will not be broken.

"_When that time comes, we'll look back at all the things we had been through together and let's say goodbye with a smile_."

"For my dearest childhood friend, even when I'm crying, I will make sure that my smile is the last thing you'll see."

* * *

_**~つづく~**_

**Endnotes: **

**Bloody Mary**: is a very famous legend that even I, who live on the other side of the country where the legend originated from knows of it. One of the famous version mentioned that if you go into a bathroom and call her 3 times infront of the mirror, she will appear and kill you or something like that.

**Sadako**: A character from the famous J-horror movie 'Ring'. In the movie, people who watch a DVD that shows her crawling our from a well will die after 7 days. The only way to survive the curse is to make copies of the DVD and have other people watch it.

**Otsuyu (The Legend of Botan Doro/The Legend of Peony Lantern)**: A widowed Samurai named Ogiwara saw a beautiful young lady and her maid at night. He instantly fell in love with her. They became lovers and each night, the young lady, Otsuyu will visit him while the maid who leads the path with peony lantern, waits outside. One day, a concerned neighbour peeked through a hole of Ogiwara's house and saw he was fondling a skeleton with rotting flesh, so he went to see a Buddhist monk. The monk warned Ogiwara and gave him talismans to put up around his house. As told, Ogiwara did so and Otsuyu wasn't able to come in. It proved that Otsuyu and her maid is not human. However, weakened by the crying pleas of his lover, Ogiwara gave up and succumbed to her. The next day, his neighbour went to check on him, but he was nowhere home. The neighbour went to find the monk and they searched for Ogiwara. In they end, they found him buried in the crypt of Otsuyu's grave, his body entangled with her skeletons.

**Lady Rokujo (Tales of Genji)**: The mistress of Genji Hikaru from the Tales of Genji. When Genji Hikaru reconciled with his legal wife, Lady Aoi; Lady Rokujo was burned with jealousy. She somehow had an out-of-body experience, somewhat like a dream where she visit Lady Aoi and torture her. Lady Rokujo is categorized as an 'ikiryo', a living spirit in which a person's hatred is tremendous, it becomes evil spirit.

**Nandemonai**: Japanese for 'nothing'. Like when someone ask you "what's up" or "what's wrong" and you asnwer "nothing", something like that.

p/s: due to the document uploading system, some words could be missing. I noticed this because some of the words from previous chapters went missing making the sentences didn't flow smoothly. I just thought I ought to mention that.

**A/N: **That was one long chapter! Thanks for reading again. I hope I don't disappoint you with this fic because before this some of you mentioned how this fic was well-written. That was actually because I have wonderful beta-editors and they helped improved the language flow of this fic. I know my english is not that bad, but sometimes reading a poor-written fic could bore you. I just don't want that to happen especially to those who had followed this story from the beginning.

Anyway, I'm glad I managed to post yet another chapter and featured a few more entities. There are 5 in this chapter, including the 'fear'. She is something that I created myself, but based on some theories that I know, so I guess it counts as one to make the 100 that I promised. So I recounted from the first chapter, including this chapter there are 14 kinds of paranormal "occurrences/entities".

Chapter 1: Ookiku

Chapter 2: Saeki

Chapter 3: Fuji's out-of-body experience, yuurei (spirit of the dead)

chapter 4: Orihime & Hikoboshi (because they are mythical creature, I will count them as part of the 100 kaidankai)

Chapter 5: Spirit of the old lady, lingering spirits during obon that follow Fuji around

Chapter 6: Toire no Hanako-san

Chapter 7: 'Fear', Sadako, Bloody Mary, Otsuyu, Lady Rokujo

A little explanation about 'fear'. I couldn't really explain about it in this chapter but in the previous chapter she was in the mirror but Fuji felt her holding his hand. In this chapter, that didn't happen, instead, she can crawl out partially from the mirror. The idea was, after breaking a lot of reflected surfaces (ie: the jars in the biology room, etc) she gained more power. She can manifest herself into a 'real' form but because her power is not enough, only half of her body was out of the mirror. That was why she wanted Fuji to break the glass. That would be the final step for her to break free fully from the realm inside the mirror and become a real monster instead of just an entity that exist because of accumulated fears.

I will work on the next chapters to make sure I complete all 100 kaidankai. Thank you for being patient with me and for giving me your support. I look forward to hear comments and criticism from all of you. Until next time!


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